Jinchuuriki Sasuke
by CaptainFlye
Summary: What if Naruto wasn't the one was sealed as the Kyuubi's container? How would things change for the knuckle head, and what about the real container of the nine talked fox? Eventual SasuSaku, NaruHina, and may other classics
1. The Sealing

**So, this was just a little idea i had that i'm not sure anyone has done anything with. I almost put it out as a story challenge, like I've seen some other people writing for, but I've never actually seen how they put out the challenges, so I'm doing it on my own. The idea is, what if something happened so that Naruto _wasn't_ the jinchuuriki of the kyuubi? My first idea was to make Sasuke the jinchuuriki, and Hinata is my second. Feel free to do your own, but if you do, let me know! I want to see what other ideas are floating around with this, and maybe someone else _did_ do this already, and i just never saw it.**

**So, after all that, please read and review the start of my story, and tell me how i might improve. Be sure to include pointing out my incorrect grammar so that i can fix it. Thanks!**

"I'm sorry my son," the blond man said as he looked down on his new born child. He was just preparing the seal that would seal the kyuubi into him. As he was about to finish it, there was a sudden bursting open of the door. He looked up, covering his seal work. Normally his anbu guards would have kept this from happening, but just now they were busy trying to distract the nine tailed fox so that he could finish his work. He grimaced when he saw who the intruder was.

"Yodamie-sama, I know what you're going to do…"

"What business is that of yours, Uchiha Fugaku?" The Uchiha glared at the hokage who had trained his nephew, Obito. He didn't blame the hokage for his nephews death, but he still felt that the hokage should have taken back the eye that the copy cat ninja took from his dying partner, no matter if it was given to him or not.

"Lord Hokage, as I said, I know that you are planning on sacrificing yourself and sealing the kyuubi inside your son. It is noble of you to give up your life, but shouldn't you give the kyuubi to someone who can be assured of being raised in how to use this power? Shouldn't this power be given to someone who had more… _natural_ ability to control and contain this creature?" Minato looked deep into Fugaku's eyes.

"Do you really know what it is that you are asking me, Uchiha, and what that means for your son," he added, pointing to the bundle that was subtly tucked away in the man's jacket. The man almost had the gall to look embarrassed, but instead he pressed on with his point.

"Hokage-sama," he said, trying to be formal, "we both know that there is someone else behind this attack, and we both know that the best way to defeat an…Uchiha, is to put him up against _another_ Uchiha. Besides this, we also know that an Uchiha has a natural ability to control the beast, and even to rid another of its power. What would be the point of giving your son this power if…a certain someone, were to close off his ability to use the kyuubi's powers. An Uchiha would be able to continue using this power in the midst of battle against this _talented_ opponent and-"

"Stop spitting me useless drivel. I know why you really want this, and I tell you that you do not understand. Understand that I have no quarrel with the Uchiha, and love quite a few of them as my family, but I see what _you_ and what your council wants, and I see how it will destroy you all!" Fugaku glared at the yodamine hokage with clenched fists.

"The Uchiha are the elite! Why shouldn't we be the ones to hold this power? We have been under the shadow of the rest of the village for generations now, and we have lost our glory in the eyes of the village and the world. People do not fear the name 'Uchiha' as they once did, and we deserve the respect that the name once carried!" Minato laughed.

"You realize that I could take on anyone in the Uchiha clan right now? And win without much trouble? The Uchiha have some degree of advantage, but that does _not_ mean that they are all the best. My beloved student Obito was an example of that. He bumbled, but he had his heart in the right place. While he had pride in being an Uchiha, he cared more about his friends not of the Uchiha than the clan itself, and had you and your council revolted, then he would have fought you! He knew what it truly was to be a shinobi of Konoha! And even if you were him, I would _still_ not give this to you." He clutched his heart. "I can see myself in the eyes of my son years from now when he learns what I did to him, and I know that he will hate me for it. This is not a gift, as you see it, but a curse, and the people will curse him perhaps for his whole life, and all I can do is pray that he finds a way to earn their respect." He looked at Fugaku again. "The people will hate you for having the jinchuuriki, and in your own life, your son will hate you for what you have done. They will not fear or respect you, nor will they grant you more power, but they will hate you and your son." Fugaku stiffened.

"They will-"

"NO!!! I will not do it." He looked down at his son. "I can barely do it to my own son; even so, I cannot hand such a weapon to someone who I know will try and destroy the village that I love so much." Fugaku looked on in silent rage, trying to find a way to salvage the situation. It was bad enough that the hokage knew what they had been planning. To speak so casually, there had to be more than that. What else could he do?

"Perhaps, then, we can make an agreement?" The hokage looked up.

"What in the world could you possibly offer to me?" Fugaku grinned.

"The safety of your village…"

Several minutes later, new seals were done and Uchiha Fugaku looked over his shoulder as he looked over to the hokage, grinning.

"Good to know that you could see reason, hokage sama." The hokage smiled back.

"Oh, I think that you will one day understand that I have come out on the far better end of this deal, Uchiha-san." The Uchiha grinned. Well, more _smirked_ than grinned. After all, this would assure that the Uchiha would not be retaliated upon, and once he was dead, the hokage could do nothing to _make_ the Uchiha keep his promise. The hokage held out the hand he'd been holding behind his back. "Shall we shake on it to finally _seal_ the deal," he asked. Fugaku moved back to the hokage to shake his hand, and was just grasping it when he realized that the hokage had put emphasis on the word, "seal" but it was too late. The seal master had gripped his hand and he could feel the energy entering him. After a moment, he fell to his knees, head swimming.

"There," said Minato, "now you will be made to keep your promise."

"What-what did you _do_ to me!" The hokage smiled as he crouched at the window, holding his son.

"I sealed the promise to your soul. You will not be able to go back on your promise, and in fact, you will be forced to do all that is in your power to preserve the peace and safety of my village." He threw him a salute. "Until we meet on the other san, Fugaku teme." Then he jumped out the window and headed towards his doom. Sometime later, the Uchiha was able to stand.

"Curse you Namikaze! I will find a way-" but before he could say anything else, he clutched his chest in pain. "Curse you," he whispered. [**A/N-he was going to say that he would find a way to remove the seal, but the seal also keeps him from doing that. Pretty good for a new seal made off the fly, huh? Think it has anymore surprises?]**

.

Minato paused on a rooftop, mading one more stop before continuing. He knew we has using precious time, but he had to do all he could to protect the children.

"Summoning jutsu!"

"Yo, what's up Minato!?" A smaller toad had appreared, ready to serve the yellow flash of Konoha.

"Gamateuchi, I need you to carry a message for me…"

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The whole village saw as the Hokage appeared on the giant toad, Gamabunta, with a small child in his arms. None of them knew that he'd designed the seal he was about to use act as his teleportation jutsu that was so feared by the shinobi world so that it would only pass by the child, and embed itself in another. That child would be Uchiha Sasuke, the son of Fugaku, and brother to the rising star, Itachi. As he prepared to die, he only hoped that his final messanger would be able to get through to the one that _hoped_ was on his side, to watch over his son, and the poor Uchiha boy who was about to become an jinchuuriki.

"Alright, it's time to bid farwell, Gamabunta. I'll see you in the afterlife!"

"Alright boy, let's do this then!" And so it was done, and the fourth hokage, the greatest shinobi in the world, died. However, only one person was to know all his secrets, and they would carry on his work. Having this as his hope, he died with a smile on his face, falling to the ground, and already able to see his beloved Kushina welcoming him to their new home.

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"Do, do you understand what it is that Minato-sama is asking of you? Can you do this?" The small figure looked up at the night sky, thinking on the attack, and loss of so many loved ones. Oh how they hated violence, but they would do what they needed to. They were gifted, after all, and if all went well, they could use this as their gift to the world to protect the ones that were precious to them.

"Yes, yes I understand, and I _will_ do this, for hokage sama," the small figure said, standing up. The furrows along the side of his face seemed deeper as he took I this new secret, determined to do his best. "I will do this for him, and I will do my best to protect the village and defeat Uchiha Madara." The toad nodded, secure in feeling that they were safe for now, and that the hokage's will would be done, and poofed away, leaving the young shinobi to their own thoughts, and to decide how best to do what he needed to now.

**Okay, so here's the frist chapter. Tell me what you think on this one, and be sure to read and review my other stories at your preference and convenience! [as of right now, 4-3-10, other stories currently include another naruto fic, one for Calvin and Hobbes, and one for Dragon Riders of Pern.]**

**Have fun and have a great weekend!**


	2. Brothers, a History

**4-8-10 * so, due to thoughts provoked by raw666's review, I have posted a poll about Itachi and the Uchiha massacre. Please vote everyone! This will be very important for the story! This chapter is still the same as last time you read it, though.**

**So, here's the second chapter. I decided that I'll keep a secret for a little bit who the person that Minato send the toad to was, but you're fine to make guesses on your own.**

**Again, feel free to use the idea of a non Naruto Konoha jinchurriki, just let me know 'cause i'd want to read it!**

**Read and review please! And don't forget to check out Junchuuriki Hinata! I've got a poll going for that one that i want a few more votes on before i put in the next chapter for it.**

"Ow! That hurt." The young but talented shinobi smiled at his younger foster brother. "I'm sorry Naruto, but you said not to hold back. A young Naruto just rubbed his head and scowled at Itachi. While Sasuke smiled. It was a rare time that the three of them got a chance to relax. Itachi was a prodigy of the Uchiha clan and, as a new chuunin, was constantly away on missions. Sasuke was always being pulled here for there for special training to surpass his brother, but he kept saying that he wanted to go to the academy with Naruto. Naruto… well, Naruto was looked down upon by the rest of the Uchiha, even his foster father, Uchiha Fugaku, but his foster mother, Uchiha Mikoto, was a little kinder to him. She was happy that Naruto and Itachi kept Sasuke from being less emotional. She frowned whenever Fugaku said that Sasuke needed extra training and neglected his other sons. It bothered her that Fugaku seemed intent on forging their little boy into some sort of weapon.

Of course Sasuke pushed himself hard for his father, but he really lived for the time he spent with his brothers. Itachi was always trying to have fun with them and Naruto was just a klutz and a goof ball, but he had greatest ideas for pranks. He was always wanting to fight him, but he never even got close to winning, though Sasuke was still hard pressed to make him give. The foster brothers had a good rivalry going on between them. Sometimes, when Itachi came home, he would train with just Naruto so that he could make up a little distance between Sasuke and himself. Of course, it was also times like this that he would take Naruto out and around town. That was the only time that Naruto was really quite. All around town he could feel the same anger and hate coming from their eyes that he felt from some in the Uchiha district. Of course, some of them just sneered at him, but out the in the village, people stared at him with open hate. He'd learned when he was four that he couldn't go out there alone. He was nearly hospitalized when an enraged Sasuke appeared and everyone ran off, not wanting to be arrested for assaulting the police chiefs' younger son. The little brat they didn't care about because it was common knowledge that the fourth Hokage's will had pressed the demon into the Uchiha's home. They figured that they'd be doing the police chief a favor by killing the brat.

Of course, Sasuke had carried Naruto to the hospital and cried for someone to take care of him. It was a while before anyone would actually do so. As luck would have it, there was a new nurse in the hospital from a village on the far of the country from Konoha, who had no idea of the rumors about the child. She came out of a room after tending a long term patient to see a small boy crying while holding another in his arms, that one looking like a piece of raw meat, and she was shocked that no one was helping them. She immediately did all she could for them. After a little time she realized that the other doctors didn't like these children for some reason, or one of them at least, but sniffed in distain. A true doctor takes care of all those who have been hurt, and so she did her job. If nothing else made it worth it to help those who suffered, the hug from the raven haired boy for helping his brother (as he had called him, though she could tell that they were not related) made it all worth it.

Later Itachi had come running to the hospital trying to find out about Naruto and Sasuke. The third doctor he talked to waved him over to the nurse. He blushed as he noticed that she was cute, but immediately got to business, and she smiled and lead him right to them.

"Thank-you so much. I just got back from a mission and heard some villagers talking about… well I heard that my brothers had gotten hurt, so I had to come right away."

"It was no problem; I'm glad I could help. Your brother is so good natured." Her smile made him blush. "But why do the two of you call him brother? Even I know what an Uchiha looks like, and he is _no_ Uchiha." Itachi's blush went down, but he explained. A little.

"Well, you see, he's our foster brother. He's parents died during the Kyuubi's attack a few years back, so my parents ended up taking him in. So, while it's true that he isn't an Uchiha, he _is_ our bother," he told her. She sighed.

"It's good to know that there are still people with hearts out there. In here," she said, frowning and jerking her head towards the other doctors and nurses, "it seems that they don't care much about little children getting really hurt." Itachi could tell that she was holding onto her clipboard a lot harder than was necessary. "It's a doctors job to care for _all_ the injured. Just leaving the tow of them sitting in the lobby and going _nothing_ is just… it's just wrong. What!?" She said loudly, turning to look at him. "What's that weird smile for?" Itachi tried to get rid of it, with some small degree of success.

"It's just… I think that we could get along well. I feel like that a lot, too." She quirked an eye brow.

"As a shinobi, shouldn't you actually wanting your opponents to get hurt and _stay_ hurt?" Itachi gave a small smile. Well, actually, I've never really been one to enjoy fighting; I just happen to be good at it, and I want to protect this village, so I fight," he said simply. She eyed him with interest.

"Uchiha-san, you are the most interesting person that I've ever met." With that final statement, she stood up. "Well, it's been nice talking with you, but I really have to get back to work." She glanced at the room the two boys were in. "I'll be back to check on your brother in an hour."

"Hai, and… arigato…?" She smiled and answered his unasked question.

"Shiranui. Shiranui Samui."

"Arigato… Samui-san." She smiled and left.

It was while remembering his first meeting with the cute nurse that Naruto managed to hit him on the head with the handle of a kunai.

"Hello! Niisan! Stop thinking about girls and train us!!"

"OW!" Now it was Itachi rubbing his head, but he was still grinning. "Sorry Nartuo, Sasuke, but this has to be it for today."

"WHAT!" The cry was from both of them. He waved a hand at them, and they smiled and came over, but then he tocked them on their foreheads.

"NiisAAaan…"

"Humph… no fair…"

"Sorry Naruto, sorry Sasuke, but I have some things I need to do now." Unperturbed, both boys then grabbed some kunai and cried out.

"Hey, bro, watch this!"

"Naruto! Sasuke!" Too late to stop them, Naruto slipped and ran into Sasuke and they both twisted their ankles. Still, they always had fun making Itachi carry them both on his back.

"I don't understand why you two do this to yourselves." His expression was a little more downcast. "Especially since you know what'll happen when we get home." Sasuke's face turned a little down at this. He felt guilty. He didn't know why, but every time he got hurt, it was Naruto that got punished, and he was just given something to make him better faster. It reminded him of that time he had wanted to play with Naruto only to find out that he had run out of the Uchiha district to the rest of the village. He had panicked when he'd found him, beat near to death, but it was still Naruto that got into trouble that day, not for leaving the compound, but for making Sasuke miss his usual afternoon lessons. Meanwhile, Naruto acted as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"Eh, why should I care what Fugaku thinks? He isn't really my dad anyways, and all that extra training just means that I'll have to train even harder to beat Sasuke!" Itachi grinned at Naruto's spirit. He was glad that he had decided to open up to this little boy in addition to his own brother. Life was just funnier with him around, and there was almost never despair or depression.

"That's good to know. I'll tell you what, though; since it's my fault you guys got hurt…"

"What? We're the ones that we're trying to show off!"

"…while I was teaching you a difficult maneuver, I'll treat you to ramen tonight." Naruto gaped at him, and then smiled as he began to get his drift.

"Heck yeah! Ramen's the best, believe it!" Sasuke rolled his eyes. He was glad, though, that the dobe was starting to figure these things out faster. It would mean that they actually had a chance of graduating from the academy together after all. All too soon, though, they were home.

"Mom, dad, I'm home with Sasuke and Naruto!" Uchiha Mikoto smiled warily as she looked over at them from the dishes that she'd been doing. Fugaku was sitting at the table, no smile apparent on his face. He nodded curtly at his sons, eyeing the odd assemblage of the two younger boys on the older boy's back. He had a feeling that Naruto had made Sasuke hurt himself again.

"Alright Naruto, what did you do to Sasuke this time, and how bad is it?" Sasuke winced, both at his father's comment and the slight pain that went through his ankle as he touched ground first. Naruto kept holding onto Itachi, though, so that he could be higher than his foster father's head as he glared at him, but Itachi covered his mouth before he could say anything.

"I'm sorry, father, but I was actually my fault. I was teaching Sasuke and Naruto how to hit multiple targets in the air and forgot to teach them how to land…" Fugaku held up a hand.

"Itachi, I taught Sasuke how to land from various falls and jumps myself. Stop trying to cover for Naruto and his blunders."

"You're the blunder old man." Fugaku eyed the blond with contempt.

"Watch your mouth, boy. You're lucky I even took you in the first place."

"Hah! If it weren't for Itachi niisan and Sasuke niisan, I would have left long ago! And you, too, mom," he said, looking more softly at his foster mother, letting him know that he did acknowledge her, too. Fugaku fumed. He didn't know how the boy did it to him, but he was as frustrating as his father. He cursed the seal the fourth used on him that kept him from doing anything to this foolish child. Well, it didn't keep him from doing _anything…_

"Naruto, you are now grounded for the weekend. You are to stay in your room expect to do chores and eat."

"Humph. Fine you old fart; I'll get right on that!" Naruto yelled as he ran up to his room. Itachi sighed and Sasuke was looking down with clenched fists. He didn't know why his dad so hard on Naruto, but he didn't think it was fair to him. Before he could say anything, though, his father spoke again.

"Sasuke, you missed your afternoon lesson. For that, you will train twice as long this evening."

"But dad! I trained with Itachi!"

"That's all well and good, but he obviously didn't do a good enough job if you got hurt, so we'll have to redo some of that, and then more." Sasuke sighed, and then stood up and headed to the training area in the back of the house, Fugaku following close behind. Itachi sighed again.

"You know," his mother said, "you're father never _will_ fall for your attempts to keep Naruto out of trouble."

"I know, but Naruto doesn't deserve what father gives him. He deserves more." Mikoto smiled at her oldest son.

"I agree, which is why I'll help you when you take Naruto out tonight for ramen." Itachi feigned innocence, to which she just smiled and laughed. "What, you thought you'd never get caught? Fortunately it was me checking on Naruto, and I'd already noticed that _you_ were gone, so I put two and two together… after making an excuse to run to the market late at night." Itachi smiled softly at his mother.

"Thank-you," he said softly.

"No problem. I'll take care of notifying Naruto; go on, I know you have someone to meet." Itachi's checks gained a slight pink tint before he nodded his head in thanks and headed back out the door.

Overall it was a good day. He was happy to have his brothers, and they were both growing strong. Naruto was probably around average for his age, and he wasn't reaching his potential. Now that Itachi was in Anbu, he didn't have the same amount of time to teach him as he used to. Of course, only father and mother knew that that was why he was gone so much. No one was supposed to know, but the Uchiha knew almost everything that went on in the village anyways. He sniffed. They were too prideful for their own good. If it were not for the jinchuuriki in their midst, they would be in decline. He wondered what would have happened if the fourth had not done the things that he did, but he sighed, thinking that it didn't matter now.

Suddenly, a masked Shinobi jumped down in front of him.

"Uchiha-san, you have a message from the Hokage." Itachi nodded and held out a hand. The anbu shook their head. "No, he wants to deliver it in person. I am to escort you back to his office." Itachi scowled inwardly.

"Give me just a moment. I need to talk to someone, and I should be able to get it done in about five minutes." The anbu nodded.

"Very well. It didn't seem urgent. I'll stick to the shadows, and then we'll go." And so they did. A barely noticeable movement, and to most people, it would seem that they had vanished, but Itachi could still tell where they were, so he kept walking, a little disappointed. In another minute he was outside the building he wanted to be at, then he leaned against the gate. Soon, the person came out he was waiting for. He still had a minute left.

"Samui chan," he said, smiling. The nurse was already smiling, anticipating her time with Itachi that night. He had said he'd come pick her up after her shift at the hospital was over, so she'd fretted about getting out on time. But here she was; she'd made it. It was time for their anniversary of their first date.

"Itachi kun," she said back to him, then noticed that his smile, though genuine, was somewhat forced. Her brow creased. "Itachi, is something wrong?" He sighed.

"I just got a message. I need to see the Hokage, and I don't think that I'll be available tonight." Sami's smile fell.

"Oh… I see. I had been hoping… Never mind. I'm sure that he really needs you. Go and take care." She started to walk away but he lightly grabber her shoulder.

"Samui, this won't keep us from celebrating our first date. I'll be by as soon as I can, and we'll celebrate." She turned around partly and squeezed his hand, a small smile back on her face.

"Thank-you, Itachi." She kissed his hand. "Now, get going. The sooner you get done with whatever the hokage wants, the sooner we can celebrate!" Itachi smiled and then he was out of sight.

"Oh Itachi… I hope I don't always have to wait for you like this…"

As Itachi jumped across the rooftops, his partner from the anbu caught up with him.

"So, Itachi-_kuuun_ has a girlfriend, huh? Why didn't you tell anyone?" Itachi shrugged.

"No one needed to know, so I didn't tell them." He paused in their conversation. "Any idea what it is that Hokage sama wants?" His partner shrugged.

"No idea."

"Okay; let's hurry up. Like Samui said, the sooner I get there, the sooner I can get back to her." The man behind the mask smiled, not that anyone could see it. Ah, to be young and crushing on cute girls… those were the days. He mentally sighed as he pitied Itachi, though. He hoped it didn't happen to him, but he knew that being an anbu could really take it out on a person's love life. But that was a worry for another time. For now, he was just as curious what the Hokage wanted from Itachi as well. In silent agreement, they picked up their pace yet again and sped to the hokage's office.

**So, this was actually a pretty long chapter for me. Was it good? Confusing? Questions? I'm happy to answer any and all, and want all the advice and input you can give me.**

**Oh, btw, Itachi should be 11 or 12 right now, which would make Sasuke and Naruto about 6 or seven, and getting ready to start at the ninja academy. Just to give you idea's on time line and such.**

**Again, read and review, and check on Junchuuriki Hinata as well [don't forget about the poll going on for that one, either!]**

**Thank you so much for reading and for the reviews I'm sure you'll give me! ... i hope............................................. :(**


	3. A New Assignment, A Late Date, and Ramen

**So hey, I'm back! _Loooong_ break from school, where i was still working the while break painting my parents main floor. Oddly enough, it was actually kinda fun! Weird, huh? But hey, here's the new chapter, after weeks of no updates! Sorry for the few followers i have for this story [but thank-you so much for your patience from those who are following]. There will be some recap near the end of this chapter on earlier events, and this chapter mostly focuses on Itachi and Samui, but it will be important for later on. **

**For those that find this story by looking for SasuSaku, it will be a while, but i promise, starting next chapter, Sasuke will start being more central to the story, and SasuSakue _will_ eventually happen! No lie! Just bear with me until then, k?**

**Well, thats it for my thoughts. Enjoy, and don't forget to review! Thank-you!**

**oh yeah, disclaimer! I don't own Naruto. Only character that is mine is Samui, and even _her_ name i got from Naruto! [even though that character is still a different person altogether.]**

Itachi gasped.

"What? You…you're kidding, right?" The Hokage smiled, and shook his head.

"No, this is quite serious. I want _you_ to take this position." Itachi just kneeled there with his mouth open.

"Bu-but I'm only twelve, Hokage-sama!"

"Yes, but you have shown to us your loyalty to the village, _and_ your exceptional skills. Besides," the sandaime hokage said, "you're _almost_ thirteen." He managed to get a grin from Itachi for that one. Itachi still felt like there was something wrong with his stomach, though.

"Hokage-sama, please, I don't think I'm ready for this…" The sandaime shook his head.

"If you really wish to not accept this promotion, then I will not make you. However, Itachi, I think that the leaf village needs you in this position. I'll give you a few days to think it over."

"Thank-you, Hokage-sama," Itachi said, relieved. He stood to leave.

"By the way, just because this little meeting happens to give us a little time to be completely private…" Itachi paused.

"Yes, hokage-sama?" The hokage still seemed hesitant to say anything, but then he took a breath.

"Did the, yondaime, _say_ something to you once?" Itachi froze.

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Samui was lying in her bed. Since her home was so far away, she lived alone in her own apartment. Her pillow was wet from crying. She loved Itachi, and she knew it. Oh, he had been cute enough when they first met, but as she had gotten to know him, after he had worked up the guts to ask her out, she had grown to like him, then love him. But she had meant what she said that day after Itachi left. She _didn't_ want to have to wait for him. There was too much pain involved in that. Too much time. She wasn't sure if she could take it. So, she cried into her pillow, wondering how much time she could wait for him…

She wasn't sure how long she had been asleep. She only knew that she was warm and her lips felt something soft. She suddenly realized what it was and she jumped up, almost throwing a surprised Itachi to the ground.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He said as she sat up, clutching her chest in surprise. "I'm so sorry Samui-chan! I just, I saw you sleeping and you looked so beautiful, and I just, I-" He hung his head. Samui took a moment to gather her thoughts, then forced a smile.

"Why, Itachi-kun, you're not going to just leave me like that, are you? I think that after starting something like _that_, you ought to finish it." Itachi looked up, slightly surprised, but still showing anticipation, but he still didn't move. She shook as she spoke.

"At the very least, don't you think that you owe something now? I mean, you kissed me while I was sleeping, and that just isn't fait…" He managed a smile, and started standing up.

"So, uh, what were you looked for as repay-" He didn't finished as she grabbed his shirt and pulled him in. It was fiery. _Yes_, she thought, _I can wait for him…_

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.

"Man, where _is_ he?!" Naruto was sitting on his bed, arms crossed, and a little angry at his older brother. He had never had to wait so long for Itachi to take him for ramen.

"Don't worry," said Sasuke, "and keep it down! Dad might hear us if you're too loud."

"Sorry," mumbled Naruto. "Still, I don't see why-" and then there was a tap on the window. "Finally!" He ran to the window, and opened the blinds to see Itachi, smiling with a little embarrassment showing.

"Sorry, nii-san," he whispered as they opened the window. "I got a little, _distracted_, and we're going to be having an extra guest tonight for ramen, k?" Naruto scratched his head and Sasuke titled his, both in confusion.

"Oh in the world would be coming with us?"

"Uh-um… well you see…there's this…uh, girl that uh, well, Naruto's Nurse! Yeah! She treated Naruto once! Remember nurse Samui!" Naruto cocked his head to the side, thinking for a bit, then his eyes widened.

"Oh yeah! She was really nice! I liked her!" Itachi smiled, sweating slightly.

"Well, come on then!" He grabbed each of the boys and jumped down, then snuck over to the wall and jumped over to where Samui was waiting.

"Hey Itachi-kun. Everything went good then?" He smiled at her.

"Yeah, just fine." She looked at the two boys.

"Now let's see, it's Sasuke and Naruto, right? How are you doing? It's been a long time since I've seen you!"

"I'm great! Thanks for taking care of me that one time!" She smiled. A nurse was always happy when someone took the time to thank them.

"Well come on, time for ramen! We got a late start, so we'll have to be more careful this time, k boys?"

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Sometime later found them all at Ichiraku's. Old man Teuchi and his daughter Ayame were always nice, and over time, they'd come to an agreement after talking to Itachi about how Naruto was treated at home sometimes. They would close shop on time, but if Itachi gave them some warning, they'd make sure to come back for the group of boys. Today had, perhaps, been a little late on getting notified, but they were still happy to do it.

Teuchi, especially, enjoyed watching Naruto and talking with the child. He knew what the boy went through, and had some idea of why, but he knew it wasn't the boys fault. Not one bit. It was the least he could do to help the young child, and he taught Ayame to think the same way, though of course he couldn't explain to her why. She hadn't been old enough to really understand based on the hearsay she was given.

Of course, what with this new addition to the group, Teuchi put in his far share of small jokes and winks that got Itachi couching on his ramen with no ability to deny. Fortunately for him, his younger brothers were too young to understand the jokes being given.

"So, Naruto, what do you do everyday anyways," Samui was asking. Naruto shrugged.

"Pretty much whatever I want, as long as I stay out of Fugaku-teme's way." Itachi shook his head.

"Naruto nii-san, please, even if my father is a fool, please don't refer to him like that, okay?" Naruto just crossed his arms. He's just a big stinkin' jerk, and you know it nii-san!" Itachi smiled while Sasuke quietly stayed out of the conversation. Samui, however, looked on, concerned.

"Itachi-kun, surely he isn't that bad, is he?" Itachi gave her a sad smile.

"It was… not my father's intention to take Naruto in," he said. He didn't worry about the others hearing because they all already knew it. "It happened around the attack of the kyuubi, and my father was obligated to take Naruto in, but he's never said exactly why, so I trust in his honor that he was doing what was right.

"Since then, he hasn't really been… _kind_ towards Naruto. He's very focused on training Sasuke-nii-san, and he thinks that Naruto just gets in the way all the time, so he's really hard on him. I think that he's too hard, and so I promised to take care of Naruto the right way, which is why we come to Ichiraku's now and then."

"But, that, that's just…wrong! Just like the time that no one else would help him in the hospital!" Her eye brows knitted in thought. "Naruto, you don't think that perhaps you're the son of someone important or famous, do you? Someone nobody liked?" Itachi had started to get a panicked look in his eye as she spoke, but calmed down as she kept going, but she still noticed it. Naruto scratched his head as he replied.

"No, I don't think so… I just think that it's weird, personally, but that's why one day I'm gonna be Hokage," he declared, pointing his chopsticks in the air. "That way people in the village will respect me and look up to me! And then I'll make sure that they don't treat anyone else like that either!" Samui gave a little giggle.

"Well, I hope you make it there, Naruto-kun," she said. Sasuke just rolled his eyes.

"Naruto, just remember, the hokage needs to be strong, and you can't even beat me. How are you supposed to be Hokage!"

"Humf. Just you wait, Sasuke, I'll show! And one day, I'll be you flat and no one will be better than me!" Itachi laughed.

"Calm down guys; you both have a long way to go before you reach that point." Naruto just put on a pouty faced, but kept quite on it and kept eating. Sasuke just started eating again as if nothing had happened. Soon they were on the way home.

"Thank you Teuchi-san! Ayame-san!"

"No problem! We look forward to next time," Teuchi said.

"Yeah! Come back soon Itachi, Sasuke, Naruto…Samui!" The four waved and walked on home.

"Now, remember, not a word to anyone, and make sure you don't act too sleepy in the morning, k?" Itachi asked as he put his brothers to bed.

"Yeah," "sure," were their replies, and then he was out, and down with Samui again.

"So, was that okay, for an anniversary date?" Itachi asked tentatively. She smiled, and held his hand, closed in, lightly gave him a kiss.

"Of course, Itachi-kun," she whispered softly in his ear. As he walked her home, she turned her face to him and asked a question.

"Itachi, who _was_ Naruto's father."

"Hmmm? Why are you asking me? How should I know?" He wasn't looking at her. In fact, she could tell that he was looking away.

"When I started to ask about his father, you got panicked. You _know_ Itachi."

"Oh, you were imagining things," he said evasively. She stopped and grabbed his face, making him look at her.

"Itachi, you will look me in the eyes and tell me that you don't know, or you will tell me who it is!" His eyes filled with anguish. Her lightly grabbed her wrists and tried to pull himself out of her grasp, but he had no success. The most he could do was shift his head so he didn't have to see the tears in her eyes.

"Itachi, please! Why won't you tell me…" He sighed, his own eyes a little wet.

"Samui, I can't tell you, because it is a village secret," and leaned forward, as if to just put his forehead on hers, but then she spoke to her in a voice so soft she could barely hear, "but away from ears that can hear, I will you…" Her hands dropped to his shoulders. She sniffed a couple of times before speaking.

"Oh, okay, that's fine. If it has to be that way, it has to be that way. I-I understand."

"Thank-you," Itachi said, kissing her forehead, and then they kept walking to Samui's place.

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.

.

"Okay, so what are we doing here," Samui asked. As they had gotten to her apartment Itachi had created clones of the two of them when they got to her apartment and then shushined them to a place a little ways away from her apartment, and snuck off into the woods. They now sat in a small clearing, sitting on the ground and facing each other.

"The first think that I want to tell you will explain us, and why I do some of the things I do around you. The reason that I never tell you what I'm doing is not just that I am a high ranking shinobi, but I am actually a member of the anbu black ops." She gasped.

"What?!" He nodded.

"That is why I never tell you about my missions. I cannot lie to you, but I could not tell you the truth." He hung his head. "I'm sorry, Samui-chan," he said. She reached over and hugged him, snuggling her face into his chest as he slowly put his arms around her.

"It's okay. You did your duty, and that's fine. It's okay." Hands tightened for a moment.

"Thank-you," he said. They just held each other for a few minutes before separating again and Itachi continued.

"So, one more thing on the being an anbu…" Itachi hesitated.

"Yes?"

"Samui, I won't do it if you say no, but the Hokage wants to promote me to captain of the anbu black ops." Samui just stared at him for a moment.

"Hold on, you're _that_ good?" Itachi gave a rare blush, tilting his head down and scratching the back of his head.

"Um, yeah, I'm pretty good." She just stared wide eyed at him.

"Wow…" He looked at her again, hand still behind his head.

"So, Samui, it would take away even more of my time than being an Anbu already does, and that was the first thing I thought of when Hokage-sama offered it to me, but like I said, I won't do it if you don't want me to." Samui closed her mouth (_when had _that_ been left hanging open_) and thought for a moment.

"Itachi-kun, if I keep getting better as a nurse, they will want me more and more. I have a certain amount of talent in healing, and I would be remiss if I didn't help these people as much as I could. In fact, I would be _wrong_ to do so." She took his chin and looked him in the eyes. "_You_ have a gift, and _you_ should share it to best you can. I think you should do it. We can work it out." She found herself surprised to no end as Itachi leaned forward and kissed her, but she kissed him right back. After a few minutes they finally separated, and she laughed, some embarrassment evident.

"What? You got a little ol' kiss from me and now you can't have enough? Not just satisfied with having my first kiss, you gotta have them all night?" Itachi blushed.

"Actually, tonight was my first kiss, too."

"Huh? Really?" He nodded. Samui got giggly for a little bit. She even got goose bumps. _Our first kiss… and it was the first for _BOTH_ of us! Teehee!_

She was able to eventually calm down and focus on what they had been talking about.

"So, Itachi-kun, if you don't want to, you don't have to tell me who Naruto's parents are." Itachi shook his head.

"I pretty much have no secrets from you now, and this is my family, so I _want _to tell you. Besides, it's not like anyone told me not to tell, it's just rare that I'm in a situation where I'm safe enough to tell it."

"But, I thought you said it was a village secret."

"It is, in that only three people have ever known, that it, Naruto's father, me, and _my_ father." Samui cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"Huh? But I thought your father didn't even like Naruto." Itachi sighed.

"No, he doesn't. My father, and many in my clan, think that the Uchiha should be the elite; the most respected, and hold the leadership in the village. My father tried to keep the rest of them in line, but it isn't because he wants to; it's because he _has_ to, because of the deal he made with Naruto's father. Same as how he hate's Naruto, especially that Naruto has to live amidst the _elite_ Uchiha's, but he can't do anything about it." He took a breath.

"You see, Naruto's father made mine promise to this, but he didn't trust my father to keep his end of the deal. So, on the fly, in the few moments that he had before he would die, he made a seal that he placed on my father that _makes_ him keep their deal. Naruto's father was a _master_ with seals.

"But, just in case, he sent a message to a young shinobi, still in the academy, but already showing great promise. 'A real prodigy,' they called him, and perfectly poised to look after his son, and his _other_ 'gift' to my family, his part of the deal the thing _my_ father wanted from him."

"Itachi-kun, I'm kind of following you, but, nothing is making sense-"

"It's about to," Itachi cut in. "I promise." Samui nodded.

"You see, this was the night that the Kyuubi attacked the leaf village; this was the night that my father and Naruto's father made a deal; this was the night the Yondaime Hokage fulfilled their deal, and sealed the kyuubi into my brother Sasuke and left his son to live with our family." Itachi finished, but it was a lot to take it, but Samui's eyes widened when she realized what he'd just told her.

"Wait, Naruto is Namikaze!?!"

"SHHHH!!!!" Itachi looked around wildly. She had been rather loud, and now she held her hands clapped over her mouth. They held still for a few moments before she took her hands down.

"Sorry," she said. Itachi grimaced.

"It's okay, but please, _never_ repeat that!" She nodded.

"I won't, but that's amazing! Naruto's father was the yellow flash! I mean, wow!" She looked at Itachi in curiosity. "Why _wouldn't_ you father want to take care of his son." Itachi clenched his hands.

"My father is so stuck on Uchiha elitism, that he felt it an insult to suggest that someone could be as powerful as an Uchiha. He could never accept that hokage-sama was more powerful than him, even though he had never beat him in a sparring match; even though the hokage's kill count was more than ten times higher than his, and my father saw even more times as many battles. Having Naruto live in his house is like an insult to him; it's like pouring salt on an open wound to him. Maybe even worse!" Samui shook her head in sadness, and then an idea occurred to her.

"So wait, your father came to make Sasuke changed into a… what's it called…a…

"It's called-"

"A jinchuuriki! That's it!" Itachi's eyes widened. That wasn't a common word.

"How did you know that word?" She smiled.

"There was once a jinchuuriki in my old country who was a talented healer. Because I love healing so much, I read books from where I came from, and it mentioned it."

"Oh," he said. "Okay."

"Anyways, if you dad wanted to make Sasuke a jinchuuriki," and here she got a little sad. Itachi could tell it was for Sasuke. Unsaid was the feeling that no one should have to bear a demon inside them. "And it was the yellow flash that did it, then does mean that the yondaime was going to seal the Kyuubi in Naruto?" A nod. "And that's why the village hates him? Because they think that he's the… no, not so much a jinchuuriki, but that he _is_ the kyuubi? And no one knows who his father is."

"That's the long and short of it," Itachi said. "There a couple people who know who Naruto's father is, but even _they_ don't know that he _isn't_ the jinchuuriki. Hokage-sama sent me a message via toad summon to tell me, and I promised to watch out for Naruto, and to do what I could to keep my brother from becoming a simple weapon, and even then, my father was already making plans to overthrow the village, and so the hokage made him, through the seal, do what he could to curb it. Another reason that my father hates Naruto." She nodded.

"I see." She smiled. "Well, I think that you're doing a great job, Itachi-kun! Naruto seems happy, and Sasuke even looks happy! Not like a weapon at all, really." Itachi smiled.

"Thank-you, Samui-chan." Itachi looked at the stars.

"We've been here a good while now. Those shinobi that were trailing me will begin to wonder where I am." Samui nodded, standing up and brushing her clothes off.

"Well then, we'd better make sure they have a reason to think we were there the whole time."

A few minutes later, Itachi almost staggered out of Samui's house, clothes disheveled, and dreamy look on his face. A voice called from inside.

"Oh Itaachi-kuuuuuun," the voice called. Itachi looked back in the doorway to see Samui leaning against the door frame, one arm up the door post, the other beckoning him back. Her clothes were also disheveled. "One more now, for a safe walk home," she said seductively. Itachi grinned and walked back. Surprising her, he grabbed her in his arms and swung her down so her head was suspended inches above the ground as Itachi leaned in and kissed her thoroughly.

"I wouldn't-have it-any-other way," he said as he got his breath back. She smiled up at him. Standing now, she hugged him tight and whispered into his ear, her mouth covered by his hair.

"Thank-you for the 'show'. She straightened. "Now get out of here, silly boy! Quick before the safety wears off!" He grinned at her, and she understood the meaning in that grin. _I enjoyed it thoroughly myself!_ Then he was off, and she went to lay down and go to sleep. Despite everything she had learned, she quickly went to sleep, and dreamed of Itachi.

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"Well I guess he was there after all."

"I don't know. I _still_ think he was there a while."

"Oh get off it; maybe never stayed that long before, but _you_ saw what they were up to!" The second man sighed.

"Alright, fine. I guess you're right." He stood. "Time to report to Danzo-sama. Even though it'll be the same as always. _Nothing_."

"Yeah. Don't know why he thinks that kid knows stuff…"

**So, i hope that everyone enjoys this chapter. Longest one i've ever written! Imagine that. Let me know how you like it [in other words, PLEASE review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]**

**Also, i'm running a poll on one of my other Naruto stories "The Rising Generation, the Kings", but only two people have voted on it. If you don't mind, could you read that story, and if you like it, vote in the poll? ****Thank-you. **

******Note, though, that I don't expect anything from you readers, just that you have a good time. My goal is to entertain, and so I strive to do. Have a nice weekend!**

******ps-because of this new poll, the poll i mentioned in the last chapter of this one is no longer up, but here's the final votes:**

******massacre- unanimous. It _will_ happen.**

******who to do it? Well, it was Itachi 3, someone else 2. So, Itachi will massacre, but I think i'll write it using an idea that i got from one of the two 'not Itachi' people, raw666. Thank-you for the reviews, the votes, and the ideas.**


	4. Prelude to Disaster

**So, here's the next chapter. I just really wanted to get this idea out, and i was feeling depressed about how little attention people pay to this story. I'm hoping that the further i go with it, the better it will compare to my other stories. Hopefully. Of course, if i get more reviews, i'll get a better idea if people actually enjoy reading this, or if they just read it b/c it's at the top of the list right after i post it. But reviews could help with that, too, even if this is the only time you ever read it and you never intend to read it again. Please review!!!!! If i'm writing bad, tell me how! If i've got something you like, tell me about that, too! Everything helps, as long as it isn't done in a superior way [that is, talking down to me, treating me like dirt, something like that...yeah] In other words, keep it constructive and in good spirits, k?**

**Alright, i guess that's more than enough from me for now. Please, read! Enjoy! And I hope you have fun with this chapter.**

**disclaimer-yo no...own...Naruto....yeah, my spanish sucks. Don't even know how to say 'own'... but 'yo' means 'I'!! :) **

**[yeah, i'm dork sometimes]**

Some time had passed since that one night, the night of Itachi and Samui's first kiss, and the revealing of the secret. She never did tell anyone, and all that changed from that was that she would occasionally come over and take the two boys out around town, or just Naruto if Mikoto couldn't get Sasuke away from Fugaku and his training. The next couple of years passed by like that.

Sasuke, for his part, was getting more and more withdrawn and frustrated. He never seemed to match up to his father's expectations. Even though he treated Naruto poorly, and practically ignored Itachi these days, Sasuke still loved him. He asked him about it one time while taking a short break, which was really hard, seeing as how Sasuke was having trouble breathing. That was the only time they would get a break when training, was when Sasuke was too tired to keep going. So, he lay there, huffing and puffing, trying to get his breath back.

"F-f-father?" Uchiha Fugaku looked up from his musings.

"Hmm?"

"Wh-why do-you-tre-treat- Naruto nii-sa-san so-po-poorly?" Fugaku raised his eyes in an attitude of, 'give me strength.

"Isn't it obvious?" Sasuke just kept breathing hard, so Fugaku rolled his eyes and answered.

"That Naruto brat, for one thing, slows down and distracts you from your training, and I already know how much potential you have. You could be the greatest Uchiha that has ever existed! Yet you slow yourself down so that he will feel that he can catch up. Ha! He isn't even an Uchiha, unworthy of your attention. _That_ is the second reason. He is a bother and a distraction." Sasuke tried to ignore it, but it hurt to think that his father felt that Naruto slowed him down.

"And wha-what about It-Itachi?" Fugaku's breath caught for a moment.

"Itachi… Itachi has shown that he can take care of himself. He is highly regarded in the village, and is developing his talents well enough on his own. I, don't _ignore_ him, I just-I give him his space." He hoped that answer would do for now. He didn't like to admit it, but he _did_ ignore Itachi. It had happened some time ago, while Mikoto was away at market with the boys.

"Itachi, your promotion to the anbu black ops is wonderful, and presents us with a fantastic opportunity to get intel on the village's more, _quiet_ goings ons. You will prepare and bring reports to the Uchiha council every two weeks on your actions and also on any other useful secrets that you have gained through that service. Understand, son?" Itachi shuffled a little bit.

"Father, isn't a shinobi's first duty to his village?" Fugaku looked at his son in slight surprise.

"What's this? You think that the village is more important than the clan?!" Itachi took a breath.

"Father, don't we Uchiha have a little too much opinion of ourselves? I mean, if we were _that_ great, we would already be village leaders, and there have been more powerful shin-"

"Stop right there!" Fugaku was breathing heavily in anger. "Don't even _suggest_ that someone else can match an Uchiha! Our power is elite, and one day we-" but here he stopped, couching hard on his words… literally of course.

"Father… are you…"

"I [couch] I'm fine!" He coughed again, thinking _Darn Namikaze!_ "Out. Get out!" Itachi quickly got up, but paused at the door. He knew exactly why his father had had to stop, but he still felt concern for him. He _was_ his father, after all, and he had been good time, mostly, over the years.

"Are you sure-"

"OUT!"

Since that time, Itachi and Fugaku didn't talk much to each other, and Fugaku couldn't do anything to try and change Itachi's mind because of that seal from the yondaime hokage, but Sasuke didn't know about that., and if Fugaku had his way, then Sasuke would lead the Fugaku had his way, then Sasuke would lead the Uchiha in their grand revolution, and maybe even kill that Namikaze brat, proving her knew where his loyalties ought to be. For right now though, Sasuke looked at him oddly.

"If he's really-getting _that_ powerful shouldn't you be- helping him more?" Fugaku took a moment before answering.

"Well, he may be… _more_ powerful than I am, now," he admitted. He never wanted to, but his first son was truly a prodigy, but once Sasuke learned how to harness the power of his bijuu, then he would be unbeatable. He smiled.

"Well, son, it's time we started up on our training again. Now, we'll start off with the phoenix fire jutsu." Sasuke sighed. His breath wasn't really back yet, but if it was time, it was time.

"Yes, father." He pushed himself up from the ground, and walked over to the side. He took a deep breath, and began to gather his chakra, and form the shape he would need. The made the hand signs, and let go.

"Phoenix fire jutsu!"…

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Naruto was in the woods, practicing his taijutsu. He didn't work on ninjutsu so much, not when Itachi wasn't around. It made more sense when he was there to explain things. He always explained things until Naruto understood, and he would work at it until he found the right way to explain it.

For now, Naruto was just kicking at the trees, sometimes trying to push off one tree to jump to another. It was silly watching a kid trying to jump that far, who was only about seven years old. He kept slipping anyways, but after a few seconds, he would get up and try again.

This time he stayed down a little longer.

"Sasuke, I promise, one day, I'll be able to match you! I'll do it, nii-san." He looked up, smiling, then frowned, noticing something off to the side of the clearing. Itachi had given him a lecture on being observant, and then trained him on tracking (just the basics, mind you), and now he noticed things more often that he once would have glossed over or missed altogether. There was a little girl over behind the tree watching him.

"I wonder what she's doing?" He stretched as he stood up, then started to walk over to where she was. He noticed that she hid completely behind the tree as he got closer. He grinned.

As the girl was looking to the side of the tree that she had been sticking her head out from, Naruto snuck around the other side. Just because Itachi hadn't trained him in how to be sneaky, or stealthy, as Itachi would say, he could still do it. The girl was still inching out, trying to find him when he tapped her on the shoulder, and she jerked, then slowly turned her head till she could see him. Naruto smiled wide and held out his hand.

"Hey! I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Want to be friends?" The girl *meeped* and fainted. "Huh? What was that about," he asked no one, scratching behind his head.

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A few weeks later, Fugaku was walking down the streets. He had decided that he should go on patrol that night himself. It had been a while, and it would do him good to be out of his office in the police corps building. However, his smiled turned to a frown as he saw a shadowy figure walk down a dark alley. He followed.

Reaching the alley, he activated his sharingan in order to see down the alley better, just in case. He scanned the alley, and was shocked to find…nothing! Turing around, he found himself face to face with…someone, hiding their face behind a mask, and then his world was no more.

Fugaku looked around. It was strange. What happened? This was not Konoha! And the colors were all wrong anyways. It was almost like everything was inverted or something. Then there was the voice.

"So, Fugaku-_sama_, what think you of your little flock o Uchiha? And feel free to speak your mind here. Here, things are as I say they are, and here, you shall be free of your little… impediment." Fugaku whirled as he tried to locate the voice, but it was all around him in this world.

"Who are you?!" There was a chuckle.

"It doesn't matter who _I_ am, but what does matter is what you _really_ think. So, my previous question: what _do_ you think of your little clan of Uchiha that you have here?" Fugaku braced himself, just in case the voice lied.

"The Uchiha are the Elite, and we are treated as commoners when we should rule Konoha!" He stood there for a second, almost in shock, then he smiled. It was a little crazy looking, his smile, but then again, when you are forced to years to try and prevent the very thing that you actually desire, not even being able to speak in support of it, then find yourself a little giddy.

"Very good. That is what I would have said in my day."

"In your day?" There was a swirl of the inverted colors and a man with an orange mask and single eye-hole appeared.

"Yes, in my day. In my dad, I sought to prevent this, but my people rejected me, and I was banished. Now, I see that there is some proper feelings here again, so I will help you." Fugaku's eyes narrowed.

"How is that?"

"You see, we can spend a few days here in a matter of only seconds, and with that time, I will learn your personality so that I can being organizing this little coup that I hear your minions muttering about. I assume you are actually in favor of it, despite what you are…_forced_ to tell them? Good. Then I will do that while you go about your duty. When the time comes, I will release that foolish seal on you, and you will be free to do as you wish. Of course, this will require you cooperation. What say you?" Fugaku didn't even need time to think it over.

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Sasuke noticed that he was unusually happy that day. He even let Sasuke stop training early. Sasuke was, of course, shocked.

"Sasuke, how about you take an early dinner." Sasuke dropped the kunai in his left hand that he'd been about to throw at a target.

"Whu-huh.." Fugaku gave his son a rare smile, then looked up at the barely cloudy sky.

""Well, you've worked hard the last few years, and things are about to get better for the Uchiha." His smile broadened. "Soon, everyone will see how powerful we are, and the respect that we deserve." Sasuke looked at his father, slight confusion on his face.

"Umm… if you say so, father." Fugaku looked straight at his younger son.

"Son, you have great power in you. One day, there will be no one able to match your power, and through you, the world will know that the Uchiha are the greatest shinobi that there are." He rubbed the hair on his sons head. "And you will lead them all." Sasuke smiled.

"You bet, dad!" He gave him a thumbs up. Fugaku smiled and rubbed his sons head.

"That's my boy…"

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Soon after that Naruto and Sasuke were sent to the academy. Fugaku scowled when he learned that Mikoto had also signed Naruto up, but he relented. After all, nothing would be able to save that brat when that stranger helped them take over.

Itachi, meanwhile, was beginning to hear things through the Anbu's spies that troubled him, and that was why he in is the office of the Hokage that day.

"What is it, Anbu-san," the sandaime hokage asked as he shuffled his various papers. Itachi raised his head to speak, as he was kneeling (as was appropriate in the presence of the hokage).

"Hokage-sama, I don't know why or how, but I believe that the reports I've been getting point to a revolt of the Uchiha clan." The hokage stopped suddenly in his paper shuffling.

"Say again, Itachi." Itachi flinched at the use of his real name. He knew that this news was shaking up the hokage if he had slipped up like that.

"Hokage-sama, I recently wondered what the change in my… in Fugaku-sans attitude was recently, so I selected trusted Anbu spies to keep track of his movements. When that course revealed nothing, I decided that I should disperse those spies to other leaders of the Uchiha clan and Police corps.

"Doing this, we discovered that the old meeting place of the Uchiha clan had begun to receive more frequent use, and sending in one our powerful genjutsu specialists, we discovered… _strong_ talk of Elitism. In a violent sense, that is." Sarutobi stroked his beard with a worried look in his eye. He knew of the past problems between the Uchiha and the Senju, but he had thought that those were all left behind. Besides, the last of the Senju was no longer in the village…

"Is there a…_leader_ to this… movement?" Itachi hesitated.

"It would appear, were he not being tailed by our…best," he began, hesitated to call himself the best, even though he was the captain of the Anbu, "that Fugaku himself was leading these meetings…" The hokage gave him a questioning look.

"Please, explain."

"Hokage-sama, I've been tailing him myself, and one of my subordinates had seen him, at the same time, leading one of these meetings. However, I can confirm that it was not him and he had no chance to make a clone, shadow or otherwise, and my tails on this _other_ Fugaku have lost him." He bowed his head. "Even when I've tried to tail the second one he has eluded us. I can only assume another, outside of our…the Uchiha clan, that is, has been impersonating Fugaku." He paused. "I suspect that Fugaku knows the generals of what is happening, but that he is actually unaware the actual meetings and such." Sarutobi quirked an eyebrow.

"How's that?" Itachi once again hesitated, but this time his hesitation lasted about a minute. The hokage sighed. "Remove your mask, Itachi-san." Itachi did so, and the two looked each other in the eye. "Now, what is it that you aren't telling me?" Itachi took a deep breath.

"There is a powerful seal on my father that forces him to do what he can to curb any rebellious tendencies that he sees in the Uchiha."

"What?! How? _When!?!_"

"The fourth Hokage did it sometime before his death, and selected me to know this secret," he said, trying not to reveal any more that he knew, but it didn't work.

"I see…but there's more to this, isn't there?" Itachi blankly stared back at him. "I understand now why you didn't want to say anything about this before. As it was an order from the fourth, I think I can assume that you were sworn to secrecy. However, I think I can infer that this involves Naruto to some degree. I will trust in your judgment, however, in what I need to know about this… _arrangement_, we'll call it.

"In the meantime, continue to observe your clan. Do what you can from the inside to try and keep it down, and if you can manage, try to pick out more of the leaders, and I will see what I can do about this."

"Thank-you, hokage-sama," Itachi said, bowing his head. He got up to leave.

"Itachi-san, a moment if you would." Itachi looked back from the door.

"Yes, hokage-sama?"

"I believe that your brothers are having a family day at the academy, yes?" Itachi nodded.

"Well, I'm giving you the day off to attend this. I know how important your brothers are to you, but also how you feel about your duty. I suspect that's why you hadn't asked me, but now know that I grant you permission to be off tomorrow."

"Thank-you," Itachi said, smiling wide, beginning to step out again.

"Oh, and perhaps you could bring in that Samui girl you're dating to meet me sometime. I hear that she's a wonderful medic." Itachi gave a rare face fault to the comment before quickly removing himself from the vicinity.

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"Itachi-kun! I didn't expect to see you today! You've been so busy lately." Itachi could feel Samui's sadness as he approached. He had been waiting for her to get off of work for the last several minutes.

"Sorry, Samui-chan," he replied, bringing her in for a kiss. She giggled.

"Why Itachi-kun, what a nice greeting," she said, acting as if they never had kissed in greeting before. He grinned wolfishly.

"Well, I'd say you liked it, wouldn't you?" She laughed and the two started walking through town hand-in-hand.

"So, any reason you were able to see me today."

"After I gave my…_report_ to the hokage, he gave me the day off, lasting through tomorrow for my brother's family day at the academy." He turned to her, his smile a little sad. "I'm sorry I can't bring you around my family. My father would be…worse than approving."

"Don't you mean _less_ than approving?" He shook his head in response to her question.

"No, father would angrily to know that I'm in love with a girl outside our clan. He's… a bit of a purest." She frowned. "Normally, I would think that he would act violently, but lately he's been in a good mood and would keep it in, I think. But even then I'm not sure." Samui shook her head.

"Oh Itachi. I wish your father wasn't like that so much."

"Yeah, me too," he muttered. "Not to mention my whole family."

"Now Itachi! You're mother is perfectly accepting of us and you know it!" Itachi looked at a now unmoving Samui in surprise, then realization came and he chuckled.

"Sorry Samui, but when we think family in the Uchiha clan, we think of the clan itself. I meant that most of my clan has a pretty similar attitude to my father. They like to keep the Uchiha line 'pure' so to speak." He sighed as they kept walking, Samui appeased. "They are all so foolish."

"I couldn't agree more," a voice said. Itachi whirled, instantly moving Samui behind him. A strange looking man stood there, head covered in a dark hood. "My family has gotten foolish over the past few decades. In you, though, I can sense greater power than all the rest of this fallen clan. Perhaps you will be of use to me, eh?"

"Who are you? What do you want?" For the first time in years, Itachi felt fear for his life, but even more for Samui. He could feel the power of this man, and knew he didn't want to cross him. Why couldn't he be walking down a street more people used? This one was often empty, which was why they used it so often. The police corps might spot him and tell his father otherwise.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough, and I think that you will be of great use to me… yes, and maybe one day…" There was a dark chuckle. "We'll meet again soon, Itachi boy. We'll meet again soon." He lifted his head up a little, and Itachi fell to his knees a second later. The man chuckled again.

"Remember what I said, Itachi, and then we'll see what happens." Then he was gone.

"Itachi! What's wrong!" Samui was instantly checking him for injuries, but she couldn't see anything. Itachi was clutching his eye, though. "Itachi-kun, is there something wrong with you eye? What can I do? Do you need help?" Itachi slowly pulled himself up to his feet.

"No, I'm fine. It was a… genjutsu." He looked at her. "He had a sharingan, and it's one I've never seen in person before…" Samui looked at him worriedly, but they just kept on going towards home.

_What's going on?_ Itachi asked. _Who was that, and how did he get the mangekyou sharingan?_

******So, next chapter will be the big one, and Itachi will leave the story for a good while. Sorry Samui-chan! [almost hurts that i'm gonna be breaking her heart....oh well!]**

******Also, there will be a little SasuSaku next chapter, and then it'll probably get bigger, depending on the focus of the chapter.**

******That's about it for now, so please review the story now. I'd really like some feedback. Especiially since this is the story i get the least feedback on... :(**

******Anyways, hope you have a great week! May your Monday be as good as possible. [ugh....Mondays]**


	5. The Runaway

**So, i guess i lied; Itachi isn't leaving yet. I was having trouble coming up with this chapter, and this is what ended up happening. I guess i realized that that was hardly doing anything with Sasuke, and so this chapter i tried to start doing better on that. I think maybe it's because I'm unfamiliar with this kind of Sasuke, so it's harder to write him, while Naruto is easy. But i'm going to work harder to write more Sasuke from this point on! This chapter isn't great for that, but it's a good start. **

**Also, one thing i didn't lie about, there is a little SasuSaku here, _finally_ (shame on me for taking so long). No Samui, though, but she'll be back soon! Meanwhile here's the next chapter; enjoy, and please review!**

**disclaimer- i don't own Naruto; at all!**

"Naruto! Room! Now!" Naruto glared at Fugaku, staring him down for a moment before sticking his tongue out and running up to his room. Mikoto, dressed casually today with large pants and a loose red shirt, looked oddly at her husband.

"Dear, all he did was spill a little water; I could have cleaned it up in a second…" Fugaku leaned over where he sat, holding the right side of his face.

"Mikoto, leave me be; I've had a rough week." Mikoto frowned as she began to clean up the little spill Naruto had made as he reached, rather hurriedly, for the potatoes. Sasuke, who had been eating hungrily, was now looking down at his food, just pushing it around the plate with his chop sticks. Mikoto sighed, shaking her head.

"Fine, but I'm bringing him the rest of his dinner." It was a sign of Fugaku's annoyance that he barely mumbled. To others it would simply seem that he was in a bad mood… except that it had been getting progressively worse over the last week. The day before he had almost hit Naruto for tripping on the front door step. Of course, no one could explain what was wrong with the police chief, and it's unlikely anyone could have guessed.

However, it was something very dark that was bothering him. Since he knew nothing, he couldn't very well do anything to stop the coming coup… or whatever it was that the… _man_ promised. He had decided a few days after his meeting that only one person matched that description, and it surprised him that he was willing to aid Fugaku, but he was not one to look at gift horse in the mouth. Besides, as long as he didn't _really_ know what was going on, the seal from the Yondaime could have no effect on him. It seemed that there was that _one_ loop hole. However, it had now been some time since they had communicated, and there was no hint as to _anything_ that was going on. It was _killing_ him to not know what was happening, or when it would happen. So, he took his anger out at his favorite target, namely Naruto, much to the detriment of the rest of the family.

Naruto, meanwhile, was lying on his bed, fuming. _I hate him! I hate him I hate him I hate him I hate him I hate him!!!_ He had been laying on his back, one leg over the other and hand behind his back, but now he flipped himself over and began to punch his pillow, over and over again. There was so much anger in him at Fugaku, and he didn't know how to get rid of it. Punch after punch he hit the pillow. It was starting to tear at the seams from the stress of the last week, and tears were beginning to fill Naruto's eyes. He finally stopped, kneeled over, his rear resting on his feet, arms hanging in his lap. He looked pathetic. It was then that he turned his eyes towards his window.

He could see the village from there. It was so happy looking, and there was green, and his only friend besides his brothers and mom…

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door.

"Naruto? Naruto? I've brought you your dinner; can I come in?" A moment's silence. "Naruto dear? I'm coming in!" Mikoto's voice was a little worried, and when she opened the door she had to clutch her mouth to not scream; as it was, she still dropped the dish she had been carrying. The window was open, the window blowing the blue drapes in, and Naruto was nowhere to be seen.

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"Itachi! Itachi I don't care if you're on duty right now or not, you get out here this minute," shrieked Mikoto as she stumbled down one of the empty streets in the Uchiha district. She knew that it was a popular stop for secret meetings back before the fourth died, and lately she'd been feeling that those meetings had started again, so she felt she would find Itachi there, and she needed him…

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Sasuke was surprised by the look on his mothers face when she came rushing down the stairs. Fugaku had already left the room when she'd gotten Naruto's food ready, so he wasn't there to see the terror and anguish on her face.

"Mo-mother? What's wrong?" She looked at her younger son and forced a smile.

"Oh, nothing, don't worry about me. I just- I have to go get something from the store. It's-it's really important, I can't believe I forgot it. Silly me. Now you'll be a good boy, won't you? You'll be safe? Stay home? Okay, good. I'll be back soon; yes, soon, soon I'll be home. Home…" Sasuke was actually a little scared. He couldn't help it. He could _feel_ the fear in his mother's voice. Just as quickly as she'd run into the room, she put on her shoes, kissed Sasuke on the forehead and left again, now using the front door.

"What's going on…" Sasuke pushed the rest of his food to the side. With his mom acting so scary, he couldn't even think about eating. What had her so worried? He thought for a moment, and realized that she'd just left to give Naruto his food. Dread filled his own heart as he ran up the stairs himself. His fears were confirmed, and his heart dropped as he looked into his room and saw the empty sight, and the tray dropped on the floor.

"Nii-san… where did you go?" He turned and ran down the stairs. He still remembered finding Naruto that one time, and the run to the hospital after. _Naruto, nii-san, you're not safe out there… why did you go?_

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"Itachi! This is your mother!!! Get your lousy $$ out here right now!!!" A tap on her shoulder and she turned to face a masked Anbu, but this one was too tall to be her son. She glared at them. "Well?! Did he send you to distract me? No! I will see my son, now!" The Anbu made calming gestures with their hands.

"Uchiha-san, please, calm down; I don't know what gave you the idea that your son in an Anbu, but,"

"Oh shut up! The Uchiha know more than their fair share, and I _know_ that my son is in the Anbu! Its fine if he can't come see me with his 'work clothes' on, but I _need_ to see him and he _needs_ to talk with me!!!"

"Mother, what's wrong with you," Itachi asked, coming up behind her in dark blue shorts and shirt, hands stuffed in his pockets. "What's brought this silly mood on you?" She whipped around to face him and grabbed his shirt, pulling his close.

"What, you ask? What has brought this _silly_ mood on me?! I'll tell you what!! You're brother is _gone!!!_ He's up and vanished without a word and I-I-" and here Mikoto finally began to cry and her face fell into her son's shoulders, her own heaving. Itachi, for his part, was in shock. His brother, run away? Why? And wait… which brother? Itachi managed to pull his mother off just enough to ask her a question.

"Mother? Mother!" She looked up at him. "Which one?" She sniffed again.

"N-Naruto, it was Naruto! He-he's gone Itachi! Your father got mad and sent him to his room, and I went up to bring him his food and he was gone!" Panic intensified in Itachi's heart. Sasuke, if he ran out, would have been fine. On one hated him, but Naruto? Everyone hated Naruto. What if no one was around fast enough this time?

"Mother! Stop this! We have to go find him! You head toward Ichiraku's, and I'll check our usual training spots." She wiped away her tears.

"Right, of course; he was hungry; maybe… maybe he just left to get some food, yes, that's where he is, so smart of you Itachi, so smart…"

"Mother!" She jerked. Her son had just given her a violent shake, pulling her out of her misery, even if only for a moment of shock. "Mother," he said, more softly, "don't worry; we'll find him. He'll be okay!" Mikoto finally smiled a little and nodded.

"Yes, of course. Thank-you, son." She dried her eyes with her apron that she was still wearing, "Now' let's go find him. We'll meet at the square in an hour, find him or not, and share where we've looked." She rushed off, taking off her apron as she went and folding it to fit into the large pockets on her pants she was wearing. Itachi was right; they _would_ find Naruto; they _had_ to…

Itachi meanwhile took a deep breather.

"Kakashi-san, please, take over for me. I have some personal business to take care of." The masked Anbu sighed.

"If you'd just come out right when she called for you, you could have been looking for Naruto sooner." He shook his head. "I just hope he's alright…" Itachi looked at him a little surprised.

"Well, that _is_ a rare attitude, Kakashi-san." The other man shrugged.

"Well, I like to thing that I know more than… err, that is, I like to think that I know _better_ than to treat someone like that." Itachi gave a rare smiled.

"I see. Seems you _do_ know a little more than most people. We'll have to talk about that sometime. I'd really like to know what your sensei was like," Itachi said, jumping away and leaving a slightly surprised Kakashi in the middle of road… though only for half a second. He was back on the roof tops soon enough. Fortunately, no one had seen them, and the meeting going on inside was being watched by a couple other Anbu while they looked out for stragglers. But how did Itachi knew who Naruto's father was?

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Sasuke was running through the streets. He'd gone to the place where he'd found Naruto last time, but there was no one there. He'd started running towards the academy after that. Maybe Naruto was trying to get in extra practice. He was holding his head down, trying to focus on his task, not remembering to watch where he was going. That was when he bumped into someone.

"Ow," said a girl's voice.

"Sorry, sorry," Sasuke said, hardly vocalizing as he rushed to get up.

"He-hey! Sasuke-kun? What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?" Sasuke paused as he looked to see who it was he'd run into. It was a girl from his class. She always used to wear her hair up in a bow, but lately she'd started to wear it longer. She was wearing a light yellow shirt and light blue skirt that day. Oh, and then there was the pink hair. What was her name?… umm…

"Sakura? What are you doing here?" She giggled slightly.

"I live just over there, silly," she said, pointing towards her house. "I was just coming home from the park." She lilted her head to one side, hands held behind her back. "Sooo, umm, why _was_ it you were running like that?" Sasuke hesitated. He'd already wasted enough time, but for some reason, he felt like he should tell her.

"My brother, Naruto, he went missing today, and no one has any idea where he is! I-I have to find him! When he's alone, in the village, well, people they…" he couldn't finish. Sakura bit her lip a little, hesitating. Even though her parents didn't mind her liking Sasuke, they always told her to stay away from Naruto. They really didn't like him, but they never really told her why… and Sasuke was pretty cute… could Naruto really be that bad?

"Sasuke-kun, maybe, maybe I could help you look for Naruto?" Sasuke smiled.

"Yeah! That'd be great! Thanks!" He grabbed her hand, turning so fast he never even noticed her blush as he carried her along and rushed towards the academy. "Come on! Let's go!"

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"And you're sure he hasn't been here?" Ayame shook her head a little sadly.

"I'm sorry Mikoto-chan, not. I haven't seen him all day, and dad's just been in the back for the last couple of hours checking inventory and getting ready buy more supplies…

"What's this," a voice called out from the back. "Is that Uchiha Mikoto? Why didn't you tell me! I'd more than happy to-" As Teuchi came out from the back, however, he paused in his jovial manner at the sight of Mikoto's frantic face. "What is it? What's wrong?" Mikoto quickly told the whole story. Teuchi's face got a little angry.

"Mikoto, I don't know why you stand that man of yours sometimes, the way he treats that kid." He sighed in exasperation. He knew that police chief had some good qualities, but when it came to Naruto, Teuchi didn't care if you were the Hokage or Daimyo themselves. No one should treat a child like that.

"Ayame! Take care of the shop; I'm going to go help Mikoto look for Naruto, but we can't just close shop, okay?" Ayame tried to pout. "No, none of that! You need to learn how to take care of the stand by yourself one day anyways." He took off and hung his apron. "Alright, let's go! Tell me where you've already been."

"Thank-you, Teuchi-san…" The man smiled.

"No problem. Anything for Naruto," he said, and they were gone.

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Naruto smiled as he threw the next kunai to the applause of the other child next to him, sitting on the ground in her lavender robe.

"Yeah! That's right," he said. "I'll be catching up with Sasuke any day now," he exclaimed. Hinata just giggled. Ever since that one day he'd snuck up on her, she'd been the one to help him improve the most, using her byakugan to find out what he was doing wrong, whether it was his stance, his force, or whatever.

"Very good, Naruto-kun! You're getting much better." Naruto grinned as wide as his face, scratching behind his head and giving her a thumbs up with his free hand.

"Hehe, yeah, believe it! I'm getting better all the time, and it's all thanks to Itachi-kun," and here Hinata's face fell a little. She never thought too well over herself, and she knew that Naruto trained with his older brother all the time, so it made sense that that was where he got most of his improvement… "But especially thanks to Hinata-chan!"

"Huh?" Hinata's face turned bright red, but she managed to fight it down, a little bit anyways, and not faint. _That_ had taken _a while_! She just always found herself in awe of Naruto's spirit. She'd seen him that one day that he'd been attacked. She'd been walking down a street to the market with her mother when she'd been pregnant with Hanabi, and seen Sasuke pulling Naruto down the street, all bloody and beat up. Later she'd been out on her own and seen him. She didn't understand why everyone was glaring at him like that. Due to her curiosity, she'd begun to look for him more, and that was when she'd begun to admire his spirit. He was like her, not especially talented, but despite that, he kept working hard, never giving up! Then he'd caught her watching.

After she'd woken up that day, he'd left and come back, and was holding out a cinnamon bun. He'd gotten it from Teuchi, saying he was trying to make a new friend, and that was the start of their friendship. She couldn't believe how patient he was with her at the start, with all of her stuttering, but slowly, she'd managed to stop doing it so much and could usually talk normal, but every now and then she'd blush, sometimes really bad, but her fainting spells were getting farther and farther apart, and even her skills were starting to get a little better with his encouragement. Now they were pretty good friends, but of course it was in secret. Her family didn't like him anymore than anyone else, she'd noticed, but again, she'd been so impressed by him that she _had_ to go after him, and it had paid off.

"Thank-you, Naruto-kun, but I'm sure Itachi-san,"

"Neh, neh, Itachi nii-san's great, but he's busy, and besides, he has to work with Sasuke nii-san, too, and he can't train me with Sharingan techniques like he can Sasuke. My styles just a little, well, different than what he can give me, and that's what makes Hinata-chan so great!" Hinata smiled.

"Alright, now it's your turn!"

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Itachi was more calmed down, now. While Naruto wasn't in any of their usual spots, there also wasn't any ruckus in the village; than suggested that no one had happened about the 'demon child' and tried to beat him up like they had other times. Itachi had even had to pop in in full Anbu gear to…_ dissuade _pursuit on a couple occasions. Where else could Naruto have gone, though? The only other spot he really knew in the village was the academy… Itachi hit ground and swiveled, turning towards the academy, hoping he was on the right track…

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"Naruto! Naruto!"

"Naruto! Naruto nii-san! Where are you?

"Naruto you baka! Come out! Everyone's worried! Where are you?" Sasuke and Sakura were both at the academy, running through the hallways. There were no classes today, and they'd already checked the gym and the front grounds with no luck. Sasuke was just happy Sakura was there to help, while Sakura was just happy that she was with Sasuke at all. _Take that Ino-pig_ she thought, though she felt a little sadness that Ino, her first real friend, was no longer a friend, now that they were both going after Sasuke… but that didn't matter right now. Right now, she had to find Naruto, because finding Naruto would make Sasuke happy, so that's what she was going to do.

"Naruto! Come on! Where the heck are you?!"

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Itachi stood out front. He could faintly hear the sounds coming from the inside, and he realized that Sasuke must have figured out what happened and was now looking for Naruto, too. It might now even be worth his time to keep looking here, but he had to, just in case. After all, it would take a while to get through all the halls and make it out back to the academy training grounds. Those could go back a ways sometimes, after all.

So, he leapt up and ran up and over the wall and towards the back. Maybe he wouldn't find Naruto, but then again, maybe he would, and either way he could talk with Sasuke after he was done and they could figure out where each of them had looked.

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"Way to go, Hinata! That was great! You got it almost in the same spot I did!" Hinata blushed. Most of her own throws hadn't been as good as Naruto, and she'd been about to give up when Naruto gave her a hug and encouraged her. She'd been so loose after that, and then she'd thrown, and it was almost in the middle! It was probably her best throw ever. She was in shock.

"H-h-how did I… _do _that?!" Naruto just gave her a clap on the back.

"It's just what was in you! I couldn't believe it, it was so cool! You were like…um… I don't know… uh…. Noodles! Yeah, noodles! Like in ramen! You were just loose and uh, what's the word? Flexible, yeah!" Hinata looked down at her hands, trying to remember the feel. It was a strange analogy, but it _had_ been something like that. She smiled as she clenched her fist. _ Maybe I was just trying too hard,_ she though_, and Naruto-kun helped me relax so I could do better…_

"Heehee; that's my Hinata-chan! Always full of surprises!"

"Unlike you, who is now filled with trouble," an irritated voice said. Naruto turned around and saw Itachi.

"Oh! Itachi nii-san! What are you doing here?" Itachi rolled his eyes.

"Naruto, do you have any idea how much you scared mother? She was going to bring you food, and then you were just gone! She's been frantic, not knowing where you are, where you went, and you still remember what happened that one time, right?" Naruto's grinned slipped.

"Mom, she's… mom's mad?" Itachi shook his head.

"Not right now; right now she's too worried to be mad." He sighed. "I'm sorry, Hyuuga-sama, but I need to get Naruto and Sasuke home so that our mom will stop worrying about you."

"Wait, Sasuke too? Uh-oh… I messed up really bad, huh?" Itachi sighed kneeling down to match Naruto's height.

"I don't know, but from what mom told me, maybe it was okay. I'll be there to talk with mom with you, so don't worry about it too much, okay?" Naruto nodded and turned back to Hinata.

"I'm sorry Hinata-chan, but I have to go now. I'll see you at class tomorrow?" Hinata nodded sadly.

"Yes, Naruto-kun. I'm happy we got to train today." She forced a smile. "I'll see you soon," she said, finishing just as Naruto jumped her with a hug.

"Thanks Hinata-chan! You're the best! Bye,' he called, running off to where Itachi was now waiting. Hinata stood there for a second, then *meeped* and fell over. It would take a little bit to recover from the hug.

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"Naruto! There you are! What's wrong with you! You have Sasuke-kun worried sick! What have you been baka!?" Naruto looked at the pink haired girl in surprise.

"Sakura-chan? You came, too? Why?" She blushed.

"Well, Sasuke-kun ran, well that it, I ran into Sasuke-kun and he needed help looking for you soo…" Itachi hid his grin. It seemed that both his brother's had someone who liked them. That was good. It meant that they were getting new friends. That was all the better. Sasuke and Naruto could both live. Now Sasuke and Naruto were hugging, Sasuke checking him for cuts, telling him how stupid he was and yelling at him for running off, but then they were all laughing and hugging, walking towards the town square where they expected their mom to be, Sakura walking along for the ride. She had to admit, Naruto wasn't as bad as she'd thought they'd be, but she still liked Sasuke-kun more. Just as they were getting to the town square, Sasuke grabbed her hand and held her back for just a second.

"Sasuke-kun? Why aren't we keeping up? What about your mom?"

"Eh, she doesn't even know yet that I left, and I, well…" She titled her head, bending down to look up at him as he had leaned his head down.

"Yes?" He took a breath.

"I wanted to thank you for helping me find Naruto," he said. "So, yeah, thanks." She smiled, closing her eyes cutely.

"No problem. I was happy too…too," but she was in shock as Sasuke gave her a hug and then backed up, slight blush on his face.

"So, uh, I'll see you at the academy, yeah?'

"Uh-huh, yeah, sure," she said, nodding but not aware of what was going on around her anymore. Sasuke turned and ran off to join his family after that, leaving Sakura to smile softly and walk home in a daze.

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"Where is he? He should be here by now! Teuchi-san, where could Itachi be?" The man tried to calm the worried mother down.

"Mikoto, don't worry. Itachi is a good kid. If he's not here yet, then he probably found Naruto and they're on their way here now! Just relax and give him a couple minutes before you freak out, okay?"

"I-I'm sorry. It's just that, well, he's never gone missing like that before and so...so" Teuchi sighed.

"I'm sure he's-" He never got to finish his comforting statement, though, as the woman shrieked.

"Naruto!!!" She rushed over to the other side of the square, almost tackling the young boy in her need to touch him and hug him and assure herself that he was alright.

"On Naruto, my son, my son, I was so worried, oh Naruto!" He hugged her back, crying a little. Most spectators looked at them in slight disgust, annoyed that someone could care for the demon that killed their friends, family, and also their beloved Hokage. Neither of the two noticed, however, as Naruto replied through tears of his own.

"I'm sorry, mom, I'm sorry! I was just so mad! Please forgive me mommy!"

"Shh, shh its okay, it's okay." She pulled away slightly. "Now, Naruto, just promise me you won't worry me like that again, okay? I can't stand that thought of loosing you!" He nodded.

"Okay, I won't! I promise, and I don't go back on my word, believe it!" They hugged for a little while longer before they got up and Itachi grabbed him and put him on his shoulders (to make sure he didn't run off again, he said) Sasuke walking along beside. He was just happy to have his brother back safe and sound, and it felt like nothing could go wrong now. It felt like they would always be together. Nothing could tear them apart because no matter what, they would always find each other no matter where the others went. What could possibly go wrong?

**Like i promised, a little SasuSaku! What did you think? I though since they're still around 10 that just keeping it on the cute side, what i thought was cute anyways, that it would be a good start for introducing the relationship. And what did you think about the NaruHina? Surprised? Tell me!**

**So, this time, no lie, next chapter is the big one. Who will die, who will live? And why does it all go down? How will this affect the two boys?**

**Review, please! I'd _love_ to hear your ideas for what you think is going to happen in the next chapter. Catch ya later!**

**oh, btw, I'm pretty sure I made a couple punctuation and grammar mistakes, but when i tried to find them again, i failed, so if you noticed them, please let me know where they were so i can fix 'em. Thanks!**


	6. Night of Blood

**Like i said last time, this one is the _big_ chapter. The Uchiha massacre will happen today! Finally you'll get to see who lives/dies/etc. Should be fun....sort of...**

**disclaimer- i don't own Naruto; at all!**

Three figures stood together in a dark room. Two of them were elders in Konoha, the other simply an old man covered in bandages, and holding a cane for support, or so it seemed. The other two were speaking with him.

"Are you sure? This could be very bad if your information is wrong." The bandaged and scared man grunted slightly.

"Of course. I gathered the information while the captain of the anbu black ops himself was reporting to the hokage." The old woman, Koharu, sighed.

"This is unfortunate. The Uchiha have been one of our most powerful clans for decades, but we cannot allow them to do this. Konoha must be preserved!" The man next to here, Homura, nodded in agreement.

"You are right, of course. The peace that we have gained, and the power in the world, cannot be lost simply because the Uchiha feel that they have been slighted. If they revolt then Konoha will become too weak to fend off invasions from the outside. But how to deal with this…" The bandaged man turned to look at them slightly.

"You are still friends with the Hokage, yes? Then use that friendship, and if that does not work use your reputation, and order the deaths of the Uchiha." He turned back to the window. "The most believable way to do this would be to frame Uchiha Itachi. He is the most different of the Uchiha, and he would also actually do it, if ordered. He, at least, is loyal." The two councilors shivered. They may not like it, but they felt that the man was right.

"Of course, Danzo-san," the replied, walking out of the room.

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The hokage dropped his jaw. Were they serious?

"Surely, my friends, you jest! There must be another way to resolve this without…"

"Hiruzen san! Do not think we haven't thought over this! If the Uchiha revolt then there is a good chance they will succeed, forfeiting your life and ours not to mention the lives of a number of other loyal Konoha Shinobi and civilians! In either case, this village will, in the end, be destroyed by their foolish pride. We must cut the head off of the snake before it can strike." Hiruzen sighed, lowering his head.

"I will think on it and… take council. You are right, at least, that time is of the essence. I still don't know how you know what you know, but it is still not everything." He waved a hand at them. "Please, leave me be…" Homura opened his mouth to speak, but Koharu stopped him and they turned and left the room, leaving the Hokage to think on his dilemma. Itachi wasn't going to like hearing this…

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A pink haired woman wearing a tan colored blouse and dark brown skirt was washing dishes. Her clothes were dirty, as she'd been working all day, and she hadn't changed them yet, being too busy cleaning and making dinner. She was almost done with that, though, and then she'd clean up and they could eat. She heard the door open and saw her little girl walk in with a smile on her face. Evidently she'd had a good day with her friends.

"So, Sakura-chan! What did you do today?" Sakura was still in a daze from the hug, so she didn't think when she answered.

"Oh, I looked for Naruto with…"

"WHAT!" There were a few banging dishes as Sakura's mother dropped the plate she'd been washing, staring wide eyed at her. "You were around that, that _boy!_" Sakura was pulled out of her daze, and covered her mouth when she realized what she'd just said. "How many times do I have to tell you to stay away from him, even if he is being leashed by the Uchiha!" Sakura was near the edge of tears. Her mother never screamed quite like that.

"Bu-but I was with Sasuke-kun! I b-barley s-saw Naruto a-at all!" Her mother seemed to calm down somewhat, but she was still clutching the sink counter tightly.

"Sakura, I'm sorry I yelled, but you must understand, you can_not_ be around that boy! He's… really bad to be around." Fear of the sandaime's law only barely kept her from saying why. Sakura, though, just ran to her room to cry. Her mother's voice had still been laced with anger, who was now slowly making herself let go of the counter. She looked at the broken plate.

_I shouldn't have gotten mad at her. After all, she doesn't understand _why_ that demon is so bad… one day, though, it will be okay, and she'll understand…_

_Why doesn't mom understand_, a crying Sakura thought. _I didn't do anything wrong! I was just with Sasuke-kun, helping him out, and Naruto isn't all that bad…_ She cried through dinner. Not because she was still upset about her mother yelling at her, but because her father yelled even worse she he got home, only being kept from spanking her more than twice because her mother intervened. _What did I do wrong?_

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Just before they got home, Itachi saw an anbu signaling him to come to head quarters. He sighed, turning to his family.

"Mother, Naruto, Sasuke, I'm afraid that I need to go. It seems that I'm needed for something." Naruto and Sasuke gave groans of complaint, but his mother blushed, remembering that she'd taken him away from his duties earlier in the day.

"Of course," she said, "you really should get back to what you were doing before." She smiled at him, patting him on the back as he put Naruto down."

"I'll be back before too long, I suspect," he said, giving both of his brothers a little 'tock' for good measure before leaping away amidst their protest.

"What's going on, anbu-san?" he asked as soon as he was on the roof tops. The other man shrugged, not answering. Itachi's eyes narrowed. Most of the anbu would tell him whatever he wanted to know. Why was this one silent, and why did he not recognize them?

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Mikoto smiled, kissing her two sons good night before quietly leaving the room. She had kept the smile on her face for a good while, though she made sure to let Naruto know that he was grounded for the next week, including any late night trips to Ichiraku. He wailed a little at that, until she reminded him how much he'd frightened her earlier that day. Now she frowned as she walked with purpose to the room she shared with her husband.

As she opened the door, she was a little surprised as he seemed to be struggling with himself. Not physically, but mentally. He was gripping one arm with the other, growling like a savage, eye's welled up in concentration, and pain.

"U-Uchiha Fugaku! What _are_ you doing?" She exclaimed, trying to hide the fear she felt at seeing him this way. His eyes widened at the sight of his wife, but then he closed his eyes tight again, opening them a moment later.

"Sorry, Mikoto-chan, but I was… having a little trouble concentrating." He heaved a sigh before grabbing onto the bedside table to raise himself enough to sit on the edge of the bed. He was sweating profusely. "What is it?" She took a moment to work up to a glare again.

"Fugaku, do you realize where I've been for the last three hours?" He quirked an eyebrow but said nothing. She stared him down once again. "After you're _stupid_ order for Naruto to go to his room, I was searching the whole the village for him because he ran away! Do you have any idea what kind of fear I had, knowing what those villagers do to him when he's out there alone?" Fugaku shrugged, looking away.

"I don't care. What comes to the boy, comes to him." She clenched her fists.

"Fugaku, you…. Why did you take him in if this was all you were ever going to treat him as?" He shifted his head to stare down his wife with a quailing glare of his own, his sharingan activated through his anger.

"I did it because I had to. I-" and he coughed for a moment. Regaining his composure, he finished his thought as best as he could. "I did it because I had to. Nothing more. If I was not forced to, I would have left him on the street to fend for himself and not given it a second thought." Mikoto, who had initially fallen back, brought herself to glare back at her husband.

"And why, pray tell, did you have to? And why have you never told me?" He growled.

"I cannot! For the same reason I had to take him in, I cannot say why!" Mikoto didn't give up.

"Surely you can say _something_," she pushed. "You haven't gone mute after all, have you?" He rose to his feet, anger in his voice.

"Fool woman! I did what I had to! To save the Uchiha I did what I must, and maybe I can't say it now, but I have reason to believe that soon, I _will_ be able to, and at that time I'll destroy that child myself!" He fell into a choking fit while his wife looked on in horror.

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"Do you understand your mission, Uchiha Itachi?" Itachi ground his fists together. How could they ask this of him? What could he say? Surely no one deserved this…

"Why?" Koharu waved an uncaring hand at him.

"My boy, you know very well why. What did you think the outcome would be if this continued? Of course this is the only solution, and so, it must be done! The needs of Konoha far outweigh your own, do you will do your duty, understood." He raised his face enough to glare at her. He had never done this before, never having been this angry, but now the full force of his hate was behind his Sharingan, and the councilwoman nearly fell out of her chair in shock. He slowly stood. At that moment, the hokage walking into his office, having forgotten a trinket for his grandchild, not expecting the sight before him of his two old friends and an enraged Itachi. He spoke slowly, closing the door softly behind him.

"Koharu, Homura, what is going on?" Itachi turned his enraged glare to the hokage.

"It seems that they are relaying your orders that I kill my clan, hokage-_sama_. Are you really surprised that I'd react like _this?_" He didn't notice the winces of the two councilors behind him, but he did see Sarutobi's eyes narrow.

"Is that so? I could have sworn I said that I had yet to make a decision. I was specifically intending to take this up with Itachi-san tomorrow… would you mind telling me, friends, what you are doing, making such an order behind my back?" Itachi's hate quickly turned back to the two councilors, his anger at the hokage forgotten, realizing that the man would have wanted to give him such an order in person. He was not the type of man to shrink for hard duties. What was this manipulation?

The councilors tried to explain, but they were interrupted by several anbu appearing in the room. The hokage turned to them in surprise, but quickly taking in their sudden appearance.

"Report," he barked. "What brings you to me this night so suddenly?"

"Hokage-sama, there is an attack commencing in the Uchiha district!" Hiruzen gaped, the two counselors gasped, and Itachi dropped to his knees.

"Explain," he asked, wondering if the decision was being taken out of his hands, while the counsilors prayed that their actions weren't coming too late.

"Sir, the Uchiha suddenly started to gather, and…"

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Mikoto looked on at her husband in terror.

"Fugaku! No! Surely not! You wouldn't murder an innocent child!" Fugaku barked out a laugh.

"He is not an Uchiha! He doesn't rate as we! Why shouldn't I?" Mikoto took a deep breath, then assumed a fighting stance, quivering.

"Uchiha Fugaku, I no longer recognize you. You are not my husband!" With that cry, she ran at him. She knew she was no match for him, but she went to attack him anyways. She could not leave her beloved son to die at the hands of a madman! It was ironic that Naruto turned out to be the one who was right. Fugaku, meanwhile, roared in rage, blocking her attack, hitting her hard on the neck, knocking her out. He stared down at her coldly.

"When did you become so soft," he asked. He was about to move in when a figure appeared at the window, wearing that mask…

"Fugaku, come with me…" The Uchiha grinned like a fool. Was it time?

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Fugaku looked out at his beloved Uchiha. They were the elite, they were the best, and now, they would forever be in charge, as was their right!

"Now, my brothers and sisters, _now_ is the time to put right that which was wrong from the beginning! It is time that we took what is rightfully ours and took the lead of this village! No more will we be walked around! No more will we be looked down upon! This is the night, _our_ night, to take the lead, and stand on the corpses of our enemies and oppressors! Let us go, and take it from the hokage himself!" There was cheering and yelling as he lead them towards the tower. They saw some few on the way, but all that questioned were put down. The Uchiha were gaining their rightful place.

Soon, they had reached the tower of the Hokage, and the old man, weak as he was, tried to defend himself. Fugaku grinned as he faced the old man, smiling at his impotence before him. He was weak, and easily struck down. Nothing could stand it his way! He roared his victory to the night air, the blood of his enemy soaking into his clothes. Nothing could take this sweet victory away from him! Nothing…could…

Fugaku stumbled, falling to his knees, but the cries and energy around him were too loud to be able to notice his fall. He looked around in confusion. What was going on? He had slain the Hokage himself! He and his brethren and sisters were now the leaders by right of conquest! So, why was he still in the Uchiha compound, no sign of violence anywhere… and why was everyone shouting? His questions were answered as a masked face rose out of the ground before him.

"What, did you really think that I'd forgiven you people for kicking me out, just because you finally figured out what I did decades ago?"

"Ma-Madara-sama! Please, what, what do you mean?" He could almost feel the evil grin coming through his mask.

"I never did have the power to remove your seal…" with that, he sunk back into the ground.

"Rise the Uchiha," he heard, along with, "Uchiha, the elite above all," and "Kill them all, and the Uchiha shall rise above!" Mouth wide open in horror, he realized suddenly that his body was moving of its own accord, and it was killing his people. Already a cousin of his was staring down at him as a kunai stuck out of his chest.

"F-Fugaku-sama…" He fell over, and Fugaku screamed in agony, the final trigger of his seal had been found, and released, and Fugaku was helpless to stop as he slaughtered his people.

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Itachi flew across the house tops, faster than he had ever gone. The moment his lieutenants had reported the trouble at home, he sped away before hearing the rest of the report. All he needed to know was that his family was in danger. He feared the worst. Was it possible that someone had managed to raise a coup after all? What would happen to Naruto? He wasn't an Uchiha, and most of the Uchiha looked at him in contempt anyways. And who was that man that he had met just those few days ago…

Suddenly he stopped, pulling up short and he nearly ran into a dark figure. He might not have stopped at all, save it were that the figure had come up right through the roof. Itachi had already had his Sharingan activated, and he knew there was no whole. Somehow, the person had managed it anyways. Who was this?

"Hello again, Itachi-san. I have a proposal for you…" and with that, he was again pulled into the world of the Mangekyou sharingan

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The Uchiha was flabbergasted. Here he was, their leader, the clan head, the one who had planned it all, and he was attacking and killing them! Some tried to take him down without killing him, but they fell even quicker than the rest. He was not the clan head for nothing, after all, and some stayed away, not sure what to do, while others fought, as they should, with all their might to stop him.

They were pulling back further, but still close enough to watch, until Itachi came. Fugaku dispatched another Uchiha, then looked up to see his oldest son. For the first time, Itachi could see fear in his father's eyes, and despair. Then he caught sight of Itachi, and he could feel some control return to his body.

"Itachi, please, help me stop this," he cried. Itachi's reply was to walk calmly to his father, who had now fallen to his knees, and put a hand on his shoulder and bend down.

"I'm sorry, father, but you should not have supposed that you could go against the deal you made with the yondaime," he whispered, and then he stabbed his father in the heart with his other hand. Fugaku coughed, blood coming out of his mouth as he started at his son.

"H-how?" Itachi simply looked at him, almost as if he was bored.

"Simple. The Yondaime wanted someone to look after the true jinchuuriki, and his son. So, he asked me. Sorry, father, but this is it." Tear began to form, but soon they were gone. "I loved you," he said, "why couldn't you have just gone with the deal?" Fugaku tried to snarl, but he was lost to the pain as he coughed once more, then fell backwards, leaving his legs to sprawl out before him, dead. Slowly the other Uchiha came out to inspect his body. Once close enough, one put their hand on Itachi's shoulder.

"Thank-you, my boy. Your father, it appears, went mad, but with you by our side, we will still manage to remove the Hokage and put one of our own in the village's leadership." Itachi's eyes turned cold as his gaze shifted towards the man.

"What you fail to realize," he said, "was that he was being forced to do what he did. What you fail to realize, is that he _wanted_ this to go through and work. Me?" His hand moved the speed of lightening, his eyes slowly changing shape to a sharingan no one had seen before. "I just want to kill you all." The man fell without a sound. Of course, it would have been hard to make one since his vocal cords were gone. Two more fell before the Uchiha as a whole realized their second betrayal of the night. Cries of anger lead them to attack with all their might. Even Fugaku could not have withstood it. Itachi could not have withstood it. But Itachi was not alone, and a mad laugh echoed through the streets as a decade's old man joined in the slaughter of his descendants.

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As the cries echoed in the street, Sasuke woke up, bleary eyed. _What's going on_ he wondered. He went to his parents' room to ask them what all the noise was, careful to try and not make any extra noise that would wake up his brother. He knocked on the door of his parents' room.

"Mama? Papa?" There was no answer. He called them again, slowly opening the door as he did so. "Mama? Pap… Mother!" He ran into the room, seeing his mother's body lying on the floor. "Mother!" She wouldn't wake what, what was wrong? He listened to the sounds in the street, and realized they were screams of anger, and of terror…

He ran from the house, terrified. Where was his father? His older brother? What was going on? He gasped as he turned a corner and saw all of the dead bodies.

"N-n-nooo!" All his friends, all his family, they were dead! Dead, with no chance of life. _Mother…_ He forced his legs to move. He had to see, he had to know. What happened to his father and brother? He thought of Naruto, almost going back to tell him to leave, but no, he thought, no one would think to look there. After all, they'd already been at his home, whoever they were, and if they saw him, they would assume Naruto was gone, too. He held back his tears as best as he could. Who was doing this, he wondered, seeing body after body of friends and family.

"Papa!" He ran to the center of a street, seeing the body of his father. "No," he cried, holding his father's head with his now unseeing eyes. "NO! DON'T BE DEAD PAPA! NO! NOOOOOOO!" He cried and cried, not noticing at first when a pair of feet landed near him and walked a few steps towards him.

"Look at this. Sasuke crying," said a voice so cold, but so familiar. He looked up to see his brother, Itachi, standing amidst the dead.

"I-Itachi-niisan! Wh-what's happening? Who's killing everyone one? Are you okay? Did you-" Suddenly, he gasped, then screamed in pain. He hadn't realized, at first, the change in his brother's eyes, but now he was… _seeing_ things! It was Itachi; it was Itachi, and Itachi was… was… _killing_! He was killing everyone! Sasuke screamed until Itachi released him, and he fell over, his strength gone. He struggled to speak, raising his head as much as he could.

"Why… did you do this, brother?" Itachi's reply was cold.

"They were just a measuring stick to test myself." Sasuke stared at the ground.

"A measuring stick? That's why… that's why… you did it… you killed everyone for _that_?" Itachi closed his eyes for a moment before answering.

"It was very important for me to do so," was his reply.

"What for…" Sasuke questioned, his voice getting colder, anger beginning to envelope him as he fought off the fear and pain that had at first overwhelmed him. "This is… just crap!" As he said the last, he managed to push himself up and lunge at Itachi, but it did him no good as Itachi delivered a simple body blow that knocked Sasuke's wind out of him, landing him on the floor once again. Fear grew again. He wasn't near strong enough to take on his brother. He would die! Die! Like everyone else! Like mother and father were both dead! Blood everywhere. DEAD!

"Don't kill me," he cried out, jumping up, and running away. He barley made it around one corner before Itachi appeared in front of him again.

"Foolish little brother," he said to him. "You're not even worth killing." He strengthened his stance for the message he was about to give. "If you want to _kill_ me, live miserably! Hate me! Survive through the ugliness." He shook his head as if in disgust. "Run… run and learn to survive. And when you come before me with the same eyes as I have, _then_ you can kill me." He knocked Sasuke down once more and turned to run, but a voice froze him in place.

"Niisan! Don't go!" He turned slowly to see Naruto, clutching his chest and crying like Niagara falls.

"Foolish little brother. As if you could stop me."

"But, but you're lying! You're lying!" Itachi showed the first emotion besides anger that night.

"And what, pray tell, makes you think that I'm lying?"

"B-because! Because I know you, niisan! You, you don't care about power like that! You just want to protect people! You wouldn't do something like this for no reason!" Itachi almost laughed.

"You never knew… it was all an act, foolish little brother, but unlike Sasuke, you don't have power to come before me and match me. You never will. Of everyone that lives, only Sasuke can obtain such a power as can test my abilities ever again." Naruto yelled again.

"It's not true, it's not true, it's not true! You love us, and you love Samui-chan." Itachi froze.

"Samui? That nurse girl? Of course not. She was just a pawn, a way to make my act of _love_ more believable." He sighed. "Go away, little brother, and don't be so foolish. The only thing you can do is accept that is how it is, and maybe you can help Sasuke obtain the power to defeat me." With that he left, jumping away so quickly that neither of the two boys, Sasuke having recovered about the time Itachi left away, and this recovery being part of the reason that Itachi left right then, but neither of the two boys could catch him. They lost him within a minute, and then they dropped down exhausted, crying. Sasuke was trying to stop, thinking that he had to become hard, Naruto trying to understand why his big brother felt he had to lie; lie and leave. Sasuke was the first to speak.

"I-I'll kill him, Naruto; I'll kill him! For killing our clan… papa…mama…" He looked up in shock to see Naruto standing in front of him, his hand turning red from the slap he'd just given Sasuke. "Naruto… what are you doing?" Naruto looked at him angrily.

"Stop thinking like that Sasuke! Just stop it! Couldn't you see it! He was crying! He was crying as he lied to us, and he cried when he was running! You saw it! Remember!" Sasuke looked back, and he remembered that yes, Naruto was right… Itachi had been on the verge of tears. He'd been so mad, then so scared, that he couldn't remember it. Why had he done that?

"Why, Naruto? Why did he do it?" Naruto's only reply was to hug his brother.

"I don't know, but one day, we'll find him; one day we'll find nii-san, and we'll make him tell us, together, why he did it…" Sasuke nodded, hugging his brother back. Yes, together they would grow strong, and they'd make Itachi tell them what he couldn't tell them now… one day…

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Sarutobi looked around at the carnage sadly. The whole clan, it seemed, was dead. No one was left alive. Even as they searched the buildings they felt like giving up. Even the children were dead. The only comforting thought was that of Naruto's family, only Fugaku was found, dead in the middle of the street.

"Hokage-sama?" He turned to look at the white haired Anbu.

"Yes? What is it?"

"Hokage-sama, we found a trail leading away and manage to find Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto." Hiruzen's eyes lit up.

"Yes? And they're fine?" The man nodded and the hokage let out a sigh of relief, then asked another question. "What about Uchiha Itachi? Is he dead?" The man shook his head. He seemed sad. "What is it, then? What's wrong?" The man sighed.

"Sir, it… it seems that captain Itachi was the one responsible for the rest of the massacre after the initial attack by Fugaku." The hokage gasped, not quite believing his ears. Itachi had killed everyone? He hated killing… what was going on? At that moment he noticed a raven sitting on one lone fence post, staring intently at him. "Kakashi san, please, keep them away from here for the time being while we clean up, understood? And do it now."

"Yes, Hokage-sama…" the man left, wondering what had made his captain, friend, and partner in the anbu go berserk like that… at least he could watch over his little brothers. Kakashi began to wonder if he'd known the man like he'd thought he did. Meanwhile, the raven flew over to the hokage, who was now alone, and held out its leg to give the man a message. He opened it and read the first words.

_It looks like they got their way after all. _Sarutobi frowned. So, Itachi had been forced to follow the false orders for some reason. But what? He looked back down at the letter, eyes widening as he read more of it. Could it really be?

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There was a knock on the nurse's door. She was awake quickly. She had learned to wake up quickly, in case there was an emergency at the hospital and she was called upon. Basic nursing, she felt. She'd make Itachi laugh sometimes with her quirks that she had so she could be a better nurse.

"I'm coming!" She called out, grabbing her nurse's gear and running to the door, pulling her shoes on as she went. "I'm coming! I'll be right out…" however, as she opened the door, she was met by a very confusing scene. In front of her door stood a white haired shinobi with one eye covered and mask covering the lower half of his face. This wasn't a nursing call, it seemed, but what else could it be?

"Hello, shinobi-san. Um… what can I do for you?" The man sighed, and she was amazed at how well a single eye could show such exhaustion… and sadness.

"Please, Shiranui Samui, could you look after these two boys tonight," he asked, gesturing at the two boys standing behind him, tears in their eyes. She was immediately concerned and leapt forward, checking their foreheads and putting her hands on their shoulders.

"Sasuke! Naruto! What's wrong with you? Are you okay? What happened?" Instead of answers, they leaned forward and caught her in a hug, crying their eyes out. She looked down at them in shock, her gut beginning to twist with a sinking feeling. She looked at the shinobi still standing by her, waiting for her answer.

"Shinobi-san, what's going on? Why can't their parents or Itachi-kun take care of them?" He bowed his head. Kakashi knew how much this was going to hurt.

"Because, Samui-san, Itachi has murdered everyone else in the Uchiha clan except these two." Samui dropped to her knees, and despair overcame her.

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**[a/n: Let's see…am I forgetting anything? Oh yes, there is one little scene you guys were probably wondering about from pretty early in this chapter and wondered about. Well, this should answer that**]

It was getting close to the morning, but no birds were chirping. It was mostly silent in the Uchiha district. There was the digging of graves being done, and buildings were still being searched to find the other dead bodies. The clan head's house had been searched earlier on, but nothing had been found. Now, though, there was movement, coming from Sasuke and Naruto's room. A hand emerged from a closet, pushing the door open slowly, and weakly. A woman spilled from the closet, wondering if it was safe yet to come out, and if the danger was passed…

**Wow... so, what did you think? Imaginary cake to all those who reply! **

**Also, did you like my little addition on the tail end there? I thought about putting it into the next chapter at the beginning, but decided against it. Of course, it will probably start with a continuation of it and an explanation as to how that woman got into that closet in the first place. Btw, how do you feel about Samui? Too rough on her? Accurate depiction of what her reaction should be, you think?**

**Again, i hope you enjoyed. Review please! I'm still promising that cake that you'll never see! (except in your mind's eye, of course!)**


	7. The Living and the Dead

**disclaimer- i don't own Naruto.**

**So, sad announcement- i have to go on a temporary hiatus in order to focus on my school work till the end of the semester in late july. I know not too many people really pay attention to this story, but even so, i've been enjoying writing this one. it's been a great joy for me, along with my other Naruto fics. I hope that you enjoy this final chapter at the beginning of my hiatus. Hopefully this doesn't deter reviews. I still like those!**

**On this chapter, we pick up starting from the events just about the time the massacre began. After all, one character was forgotten in the midst of all that happened. Now we'll find out who it was that fell out of that closet (like you guys couldn't tell, right? lol) and what they'll do after learning exactly what happened out in the streets that night.**

**One more note, i was going to write more, but like i said, i needed to time for other things, so Sasuke and Naruto only get mentioned at the beginning of this chapter. When i get back to this i'll either start off with a time skip that has flashbacks over the last few years, or i'll write one more chapter and _then_ time skip. You're advice and ideas are welcome, just click that little review button!**

**Anyways, here's the newest chapter! Enjoy!**

Mikoto pulled herself up from the floor a little, pushing her torso up with her elbows. She had known that she was no match for her husband, but she hadn't thought that she would be _that_ weak against him!

"Aaah!" She had tried to stand up, but whatever Fugaku had down had disabled most of her lower body, and she could only move with great deal of pain. She paused for a moment to try and gather her strength, remembering what Fugaku had last said about Naruto… she had to see if he was okay!

It was then, however, that she began to hear the screams that made her blood run cold. Her heart began beating hard. She thought she recognized some of those voices, but she had to know for sure, so she pulled herself to the window using her elbows. Reaching it, she made herself find the strength to overcome the pain and look out and down to the road. She almost screamed herself as she saw the bodies of the dead, her family and friends, all over. She dropped to the ground, crying. What had brought this about? Why was this happening? Her head popped up from where she lay sobbing on the floor. The boys!

Once again, she worked as hard as she could to crawl along the floor. She had to know if the boys were safe, even as she wondered why this was happening. Was Fugaku actually trying to get away with a coup? If so, why were so many dead of the Uchiha, and _only_ the Uchiha? She had seen no bodies in the road that did not bear the Uchiha crest… Finally, she reached the boys room. She wasn't sure if she should be happy or sad that the boys were no longer there. If they were just here sleeping, then they would be easy to kill, and they might have escaped whatever was happening. On the other hand, they might have been taken outside… She shook her head. She knew that she was in no condition to help anyone just then. She needed to make a plan, and try to survive. She looked around. There was the closet… who would think that a grown woman, wife to the Uchiha clan head, would hide in the closet of two young boys?

Hours later, she realized that the screaming had stopped. It was quite, and light was beginning to seep into the room. Mikoto braced herself against the wall, pushing herself up, trying to stay steady. She had fallen asleep once only to have bloody nightmares of what might be happening outside her home. She had heard people in the room twice. One had simply walked through the room, hmphed, then left. The other had been a group, calling out for survivors, but she had been too afraid at the time to speak.

She stepped weakly out of the closet. It looked so peaceful in the room; it was just like every morning after Sasuke and Naruto got up, the beds unmade, the clothes from the previous day still on the floor. But unlike most mornings, she had no idea where her boys were, or even if they were alive. She bowed her head, but then her ears twitched as she heard speaking. She crept closer to the window to try and hear it more clearly.

"…dead. Who would have thought one man could do it?"

"I know; I never would have expected it. I mean, what possess a guy to murder his whole clan?" There was a barely heard sigh.

"Something must have happened in senpai's head; he wasn't the type of guy to, well, you know…"

"Yeah, but the facts speak for themselves; that Uchiha boy and the…_kid_ that lived with them saw him and he admitted it! The hokage even said the evidence was too great; I heard he had something even greater to prove that Itachi-san did it, not even sparing his parents…" The rest of the conversation was lost to Mikoto as she dropped to the floor, clutching her heart.

Itachi? Her son Itachi had killed everyone? Even Fugaku? She couldn't help but feel a little relieved at that, but her son had been such a gentle soul… surely he wouldn't have…wait, who had they said Itachi had spoken with? She pulled herself back up. It was now or never, she knew, and she decided to risk it, and stuck her head out the window. It turned out that the two men speaking were Anbu black ops; it seemed they had burial duty.

"Anbu-san! Up here!" The two men looked up in shock. They themselves had checked the Uchiha clan heads house and found no one. How did that woman get there? The taller of the two motioned and they jumped on the wall outside her window, latching on to the wall with their chakra.

"Before we see what we can do for you, identify yourself," the shorter one said, his left hand fingering a kunai behind his back, just in case. They could both see the woman tense up, then force herself to relax.

"Last night, I passed out, before whatever it was happened. I woke up, barely able to move to hear screams and crawled into this room and hid in the closet after finding no one in the room, realizing that I was too weak to do anything anyways. Please, I am Uchiha Mikoto; I heard you two speaking of my sons. Please, where are they?" The two men looked at her surprised, and feeling a little ashamed that they hadn't checked he closet, and tried to console the woman whose eyes were streaming with tears.

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Samui had pulled the two boys into the couch with her, but unlike them, she had never fallen asleep. She was still in shock when the sun began to shine into the room. Sasuke and Naruto were against her, her arms around each of them. She had done what she could to comfort them, and eventually they had managed to let sleep overtake them, but based on their movements during the night, neither of them had slept that well.

_Why, Itachi-kun? Why did you do this? This isn't you_… these words had repeated in her head over and over the whole night. She had run through everything that she knew about Itachi and could find nothing that would explain what he had done. She knew that he disagreed with many in the clan about Uchiha supremacy, but he still loved them, especially Sasuke and his mother, not to mention Naruto. That last brought up the point of his knowledge of Naruto's parentage. He had a duty to watch over him, and she knew how seriously he took that duty. What would make him abandon his adopted brother like this?

Running things in her head over and over again, nothing made any sense, but her thoughts were finally interrupted as one of the small boys began to cry again.

"Mama-san! Mama-san!" It was Naruto, and he was a little awake. It seemed that his dreams had gotten bad enough that he was seeking the comfort of his mother, but of course she was nowhere. Samui cried as she tried to calm him down again and sooth his hurt. It was hard, of course, when her own heart felt so hollow, but soon he was asleep again, his half awake state replacing his mother for Samui. She looked down at the two boys again, seeing their tear stained faces. _How are we going to get through this?_ She thought about a few more things, never once realizing that she was missing her hospital shifts, before coming to some decisions. She gently laid the boys down, covering each with a blanket and darkening the room as much as possible, then wrote and note and left, heading for the hokage's office.

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Sarutobi looked at his desk. There were several reports about the massacre last night. He had already met with his two councilors, and with Danzo, a man he had once considered a friendly rival, but no more. He told them of Itachi's decision, and what led to it. He also let them know Itachi's demand that his brother not be killed, but rather protected, or else he would reveal what they had made him do, regardless of his other reason for doing what he had.

Right now, though, Saruboti was trying to decide what to do with the two boys. He needed a place for the two to live that wouldn't remind them of Itachi all the time. According to Kakashi, they had been in tears the whole time he;d been with them, receiving some comfort from Samui, but only a little. Now, of course, the problem was trying to find someone who would be willingly to look after both Sasuke _and_ Naruto; because of the thing inside of Naruto, few would desire to do such a thing, even thought placing Sasuke would be easy, but he didn't think the two boys would take well to being separating like that.

Then there was a knock at the door, and he called for whoever it was to come in. To his surprise it was Samui. He took in her ragged appearance. Her nurses uniform was very wrinkled, and he didn't think that she'd slept well, if at all, but he could see determination on her face regardless.

"Well, I must say, Samui-san, I did not expect to see you here. What brings you here this morning?" She looked at him with her haggard eyes. She bowed, staying in that position

"Hokage-sama, please, tell my why Itachi-kun did it." Sarutobi looked away from the girl.

"From our understanding, he did it to test the limits of his powers." He was surprised by the girls reaction.

"Hokage-sama, please, don't treat me like a fool; we both know that Itachi wouldn't do that. I wouldn't know for sure that you know better but for the things that Itachi has shared about you with me. So please, don't treat me for a fool, and don't lie to me." She finally rose from her bow t look the sandaime in the eyes. "Why did Itachi-kun do it?" Hiruzen sighed, tilting his head down. What could he say? Itachi had specifically said not to tell her, but to help her move on with her life so that she would forget him. He was, after all, an impossible person for her to have a relationship now. However, as she said, she wasn't stupid, and she would know that Hiruzen was lying. He sighed again.

"He did it because he had to, and he is a criminal for it. I'm sorry, Samui-san, but he is out of our reach, and he will not be coming back. This is no trick, give up on him." He could hear her almost sob get stuck in her throat.

"Fine; I-I'll figure it out, one day, but for now, I would like to get a job here with you as a secretary or assistant here for you so I can have hours better suited to taking care of Sasuke and Naruto full time." This caused the Hokage to sit up straight and stare. Not only was the girl willing to take care of Naruto, which wasn't that much of a surprise based on what he knew about the girl, but she was actually willing, and _wanted_ to take care of the two boys at the loss of her careers as a nurse to do so! He put his fingers together in thought.

Was this a good idea? Was going to look into what _really_ happened to Itachi, and Itachi had wanted none else to know hat had happened, as long as Sasuke and Naruto were safe. He had written to insist to Samui that Itachi really had defected, killing his family on a mrer whim. It wasn't working, obviously, so the question on the Hoakge's mind now was this: would she be more distracted from finding out as a nurse, or by taking care of two boys who would remind her of Itachi every day? It was at that moment that an Anbu arrived just outside his window, kneeling down, holding his arm across his chest hand over his heart, and his head bowed, all of which were sings of respect for the man all the anbu served.

"Hokage-sama," he said. Sarutobi looked out the window at him. He was slightly out of breath, he noticed, but no sign of panic. That meant there was no immediate danger, just something that he felt was important news. He looked over at Samui and sighed.

"I'm afraid this will have to wait, Samui-san, but I will-"

"Actually Hokage-sama, it might be good to have a medic." The Hokage frowned slightly. No panic, and yet the need for a medic? What was this?

"Very, Samui, you may stay. Now, anbu-san, could you tell me what this is about?" The anbu looked up and stepped into the room at the motioned invitation by the hokage's inviting hand, which was waving him in.

"Hokage-sama, my partner is bringing a survivor from the massacre with him." Hiruzen jumped up, hands pushing hard against the desk.

"What? Someone survived? Who was it?" He couldn't help but feel a little fear at the possibilities of who it might be, and what they might now.

"Sir, it is Uchiha Mikoto."

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Mikoto held tight to the man carrying her across the roof tops. She had never been good at shinobi skills, which was shy she'd dropped out of the academy and just did police work for a while. She still learned how to use the sharingan that way, but never very well. She was still surprised, slightly, that she'd had the courage to challenge her husband the night before, and though she felt guilty thinking it, she was more glad than sad that the man was dead, especially now that she knew her sons were alive. But Itachi… what was going on? Why would Itachi do something like that? She still didn't think it fit his gentle personality, even if he did hate how the clan had such an elitist attitude.

"We're about there," the anbu agent said, making sure that the woman was secure on their back and not going to fall off. "It'll be a nice long jump up to the Hokage's window, but we should be fine. In training they make you jump twice as far with about as much weight." Mikoto nodded, wondering what news the hokage would bring.

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"Hokage-sama, we're here." Mikoto gingerly got off of her ride's back before bowing to the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama, I know that this looks odd, me being as unharmed as I am, but I promise you I-" But the hokage held up a hand, stopping her.

"Uchiha Mikoto, I _do_ want to hear the story of how you survived, but I am reasonably sure…" however, he didn't get to finish his sentence. Karma seemed to want to teach him a lesson about interrupting people.

"Mikoto-chan!" Screamed Samui, running at the surprised woman. She looked down at the girl now crying into her like a water fall, not sure what to do to comfort her. She he had some idea; after all, from what she'd gathered, Itachi killed everyone, and Samui had been his girlfriend, so naturally she would be distraught. "Mikoto-chan, why? Why are they saying Itachi-kun did such things? What happened out there last night?" Mikoto looked at her, some pity in her eyes. Even she knew that the right things could trigger someone to do even the most horrible of things, even if she, too, had trouble believing what Itachi had done, she still believed that he did it. She just wanted to know why. Hiruzen opened his mouth to speak, but karma was still against him.

"Samui-san, Mikoto-san says she was injured; if you could please let go of her and then give her a quick check up to make sure she's okay?" Samui blushed in embarrassment and let go, muttering an apology and starting a basic check-up while the hokage finally was able to speak, his tone _daring_ anyone to interrupt him again.

"AS I was saying Uchiha Mikoto, I do want to hear the story, but later; for now it suffices me that I feel assured you are innocent. For now, how much have the anbu told you about last night?" Mikoto repeated what she had heard them saying outside the window, the hokage nodding as she spoke.

"Okay, that pretty well matches it. Yes, Itachi murdered the Uchiha last night. This was begun, apparently, as a plan by him and his father, your husband but DON'T INTERRUPT!" He yelled as she began to open her mouth.

"As I was saying," his eyes staring them all down, again daring anyone to interrupt, "Itachi was here in my office when a report was brought in that there was a disturbance in the Uchiha compound. The rest of the anbu stayed behind as they told me of a massacre of the Uchiha by Fugaku, and they were trying to find out the best way to respond as Fugaku _was_ a powerful shinobi.

"However, when we got there, Itachi had incapacitated the remaining anbu who were waiting to heed his commands and killed Fugaku, and also the rest of the Uchiha clan, leaving Sasuke and Naruto alive. Why Naruto we are not sure, but it seems that perhaps he did not feel that he was a worthy opponent, while Sasuke, he said, had great potential that he wanted to test himself on one day. Though somehow, he missed you…" Mikoto looked at the Hokage oddly. She knew how much that didn't make sense, and she thought that she saw him flinch once or twice during that explanation. And was that sweat on his forehead? Her eyes darted back and forth between the two anbu in the room. Samui was also strangely silent. Hiruzen sighed.

"Anbu, return to your duties. I'll make sure that these two are well taken care of."

"Hai!" and with that, they were gone, leaving the medic and the mother.

"Well," demanded Samui. "There's something that stinks with that story and I want to know what!" Sarutobi sighed, rubbing his temples.

"We don't know for sure," he said. "As odd as it seems, it really does look like they were working together and-"

"Hokage-sama, the reason I lived is because I was too weak to do anything after my husband tried to kill me after I attacked him when he said that he wanted to kill Naruto and lead the Uchiha to rebellion against the village. Itachi, meanwhile, we all know was quite loyal and though he did not hate that…_ man_, he would not just kill him like that. WHAT is going on with my _son?_" The hokage dropped his head, covering his face with his hand, then raising his head again to look at the ceiling, the frustration evident on his face.

"Samui-san, if you could leave for a moment please?" The nurse looked at the hokage harshly before Mikoto patted her on the shoulder to reassure her that she would make sure that Samui didn't miss anything. Samui looked up her appreaciativly, gave the hokage one final glare, then left the room. Mikoto and Sarutobi stared each other down for a moment before she spoke.

"Well, hokage-sama? What do you have to tell me about my son?" Despite the power of her glare the Hokage did not shrink. He was the hokage for a reason, after all.

"Uchiha Mikoto-san, how badly do you want to know what happened last night? All of it, along with the reasons?" She clenched her fists tightly.

"I would do _anything_ to find out." He raised his eyebrow.

"Would you give up anything?" She nodded.

"Anything and everything. I pretty much lost it all at this point anyways." He nodded, stroking his beard for a moment.

"Uchiha Mikoto, if you want to find out what happened, then I will have you trained once again as a shinobi. Let the desire to discover what happened be your motivation. Once you are ready you will be sent out to track Itachi down and discover his reasons. If at all possible, you will avoid direct contact as he will most likely be more powerful than you and may even try to kill to find out." He raised his eyebrow.

"Would you give up anything?" She nodded.

"Anything and everything. I pretty much lost it all at this point anyways." He nodded, stroking his beard for a moment.

"Uchiha Mikoto, if you want to find out what happened, then I will have you trained once again as a shinobi. Let the desire to discover what happened be your motivation. Once you are ready you will be sent out to track Itachi down and discover his reasons. If at all possible, you will avoid direct contact as he will most likely be more powerful than you and may even try to kill _you_ as well to finish the job he started. Understood?" Mikoto was taken back.

"Wait, be trained as a shinobi? Hokage-sama, we both know I dropped out of the academy because I had no talent for such things, and-"

"Uchiha Mikoto, you and your son Sasuke are the last remaining Uchiha in the leaf village. Your family is gone for no reason unless _you_ can discover why Itachi did what he did. Know this, if you choose to find out this way, you will remain a secret of the village, only the four of us who have seen you today knowing exactly who you are, others training you without knowing who you are." He looked at her gravely. "Your two remaining sons will not know you are alive and will be raised by Samui. I ask again, what are you willing to do to find out why Itachi apparently turned traitor on us?"

Mikoto bowed her head, wondering what she should do. She hadn't thought about Naruto and Sasuke. She so wanted to see them again. They were her sons! But Itachi was her son, too, and she could not accept the story that had been given, though the way he was speaking she was beginning to wonder if the hokage was like her and didn't know and just suspected, or if he was laying a web around her. He was giving no hints. One moment it seemed like he knew more than he let on, the next he made it sound like it was only a suspicion.

And why not send someone else? Though of course, she was the only one conveniently 'dead' at the moment; no one would ever think of her… She looked back at the door. Samui would raise her sons well, she knew. She could trust her, and no one said that she couldn't _see_ her sons; they just couldn't know she was alive. But still, she never had been very good at Shinobi things… but then again, Naruto had never shone particular talent, but it never stopped him, and he was fairing pretty decently these days.

Mikoto turned back around, standing straight, tall and proud, with determination lining her face.

"Hokage-sama, I will be what you need me to be to learn the truth of my son for us all." The hokage nodded grimly.

"Very good. You are no longer Uchiha Mikoto. That woman is dead. You shall be Akana Koto. Koto, you will begin your duties immediately."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." _This will be an interesting beginning_ she thought, _but I will find you, Itachi, and I will know the truth. Naruto, Sasuke, I won't be gone for too long; wait for me, my sons…_

**So, this is the end for now. It'll be another month and a half about before my next update. Meanwhile, i hope you guys leave me plenty of reviews so i can get properly excited about getting back to this story! Enjoy the rest of the summer ya'll!**

**CaptainFlye**


	8. Journey's Soon to Begin

**GRAH! Each time i try to edit this before uploading something happens and it goes back page! GAAAHHHH!**

**well, hopefully i can get it finished this time, but i've learned to save constantly now.**

**So, hey, I'm back, as those who have been reading my other stories already know. Traveling, looking for a job, etc, makes it a little harder to write, but i can garuntee you will never have to wait more than two weeks for an update!**

**Note- we have now hit a time skip and are in Naruto's and Sasuke's final week of the academy. both have been training very hard, but each will have their issues as we go.**

**Also, note that it is my opinion that Naruto has a large chakra capacity regardless of the nine-tailed fox for reasons that i don't want to explain here.**

**Now, disclaimer, disclaimer, etc, you know the drill, but please don't forget to review! (also note, ANYONE can review my stories; you don't need a fanfic account for mine, just don't flame, k?)**

"Come on, Naruto! We'll be late if you don't hurry up!" A twelve year old Sasuke waited at the door of their home. He tended to dress much as he had when he was younger. He wore a blue shirt with the Uchiha clan symbol on the back along with a pair of tan shorts. He also had some cloth on his arms that had multiple functions, but first and foremost, he kept a pair of arm guards hidden underneath, just in case. He was always careful now. If nothing else, Itachi had taught him that you could be attacked at any time, so Sasuke planned on being ready. He could also stash extra kunai or ninja wire underneath there.

He and Naruto had lived with Samui for several years now. Itachi was a taboo subject between the three of them, but back when the _incident_ had happened, she had told Naruto and him that she believed there was more to it than what everyone said, just like Naruto had done when they'd followed Itachi that night. Sasuke wasn't convinced, but he went with it.

The black haired boy trained harder than anyone else in the academy. He wanted to be ready to face Itachi when the day came. Whether there was more to the story or, not, he believed that there was going to be a fight in their hands.

Finally, Naruto came down the stairs, grinning like a fool.

"Hehe, sorry bro. I kinda slept in a little bit." The young blond still had crazy hair, sticking out everywhere. He now wore a pair of blue goggles that Hinata had given him as a birthday present a year or two back. She had come to the door early that morning, stammering and blushing till she screamed "Happy birthday Naruto-kun" and then fled. Naruto had barely caught the package before it hit the ground. He had been delighted with the present and wore them all the time now. He never told anyone where he got them, though. He would just say it was a present from his favorite friend. Everyone always seemed to miss Hinata's blush whenever he said that, and her quiet, embarrassed, yet pleased, smile.

Their training together had helped out both of them. They had had to stop a couple months back when one of the branch house members, the same one who had told her to stay away from him in the first place as younger children, had come across them practicing, but Naruto had let her know that it was okay the next day, and that he hoped they would get put on the same team so they could keep practicing anyways. She had smiled happily, managing not to blush too much _or_ faint, even.

Along with his goggles, the blond tended to wear an orange tee shirt with a spiral on the back. Samui had laughed at his insistence that it be put on the back of his shirts and jackets. His shirt also had a blue stripe on each sleeve, and this particular shirt had the Uchiha symbol on the right sleeve. He always wanted to remember his family and let everyone know that he had been raised by Uchiha's, even if the memories were hard on him at the loss of his and Sasuke's family. Naruto had also tried to get Samui to let him wear orange pants, but she had put her foot down there, and so he just wore a pair of dark blue shorts, his ninja tool holster strapped to his right leg.

Now, though, the two brothers ran to get to the academy on time. Naruto was getting berated by Sasuke for sleeping in this close to the exam. It was too important, he said, to miss anything now. If they wanted to be strong, they had to make sure that got every chance they had to learn all they could.

Of course, this didn't stop Naruto from pulling pranks. While he had liked to do so before the incident, he had _really_ gotten into pranking after it. He had heard some people whispering that it was probably living with 'that blond demon brat' that drove the gifted Itachi to kill his family. He had started pranking to try and get people to stop associating him and Itachi, and to try and make them see that he wasn't a demon, whatever they meant by that.

Arriving at the academy, the two split up. Sasuke usually tried to sit _mostly_ alone but he was okay with Sakura sitting next to him. After all, she _had_ helped him find Naruto that one day. Of course, he had never seen her red eyes at school the next day, or seen how she had to wince every time she sat down, so he never knew about the beating she got from her father for helping them that day. Her father had hit very hard, even if it was only twice.

Naruto, meanwhile, sat next to Hinata. She was the only person who seemed able to get him to concentrate on their school work. Sasuke had decided that Naruto must have a crush on her that he didn't even know he had. After all, even though when they trained they did it at full power, Sasuke had noticed that Naruto treated Hinata differently than the other girls, and not just different in the way that you treat a friend. In many ways he seemed to be calmer and gentler when he was with her. When he had asked Naruto once if he liked Hinata, though, he just looked at him oddly replying that she was his best friend, besides Sasuke, so of course he liked her. Sasuke had just rolled his eyes and walked away. Now if only he could get rid of the rest of the fan girls that fawned over him… at least with Sakura there none of them could sit next to him during class…

"Oh Sasuke-kuuun!" Not that it stopped some of them from gripping him to death…

"Ino-pig, get off of Sasuke-kun! Can't you tell he doesn't want you touching him!" And sometimes he wished Sakura would be a little less loud when she was 'helping' him. The louder she got, the tighter it seemed Ino would squeeze him from behind.

"Get off it, billboard brow! Just 'cause you always manage to get the seat next to him doesn't mean he had to deny his true feelings!"

"Hah! As if Sasuke-kun could fall for a pig like you!"

"GRAH! WHAT DID YOU SAY!" Ah, at last he could breathe! He looked over to see Naruto smirking and whispering to Hinata. He fixed them with a glare before laying his head down on his desk and covering his head. He kept wishing that one day Sakura would just be calm like she had been when they were younger. It was only in the last year or so that the girls, those two especially, had gotten really violent about crushing on him.

"alright, that's enough for now, you two, it's time for class to start." Ino immediately pointed a finger at Sakura and began yelling.

"But Iruka sensei, Sakura was-"

"I SAID IT'S TIME FOR CLASS TO START YOU BETTER FIND A SEAT NOW!" Ino 'meeped' then ran to a find an open chair. It was at this point that she realized that the only chair left was on the opposite end of the room; Hinata had taken the chair behind Sasuke that _had_ been empty…it wasn't until she sat down that she realized that Hinata was sitting on the front row with Naruto.

There was a poof as Hinata's clone disappeared and Sasuke shot a thankful look over at Hinata and Naruto. Hinata smiled kindly and Naruto gave him a thumbs up and a wink. Ah, today might be a good day after all…

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"Hokage-sama, don't you think it's time I moved on? I'm not the shinobi I used to be. I can handle the task." Sarutobi was looking out the window, hands clasped behind his back as he smoked his pipe, the anbu dressed shinobi kneeled before his desk, asking for their assignment. Sarutobi turned to face the anbu and asked them a question.

"Anbu san, do you truly feel that you are ready to handle this task? You know the dangers involved." The masked nin nodded. The hokage pulled the pipe from his mouth, exhaling some smoke before replacing it.

"Very well then; tomorrow you shall begin your search for the missing nin Uchiha Itachi and discover his purpose for the massacre of the Uchiha clan, Koto-san." The anbu bowed their head.

"Thank-you, hokage sama. I shall collect my things and begin my search within the day." He nodded, looking back out the window.

"Very well; inform my secretary of your mission and make sure she files it under the correct category."

"Hai," they said, and disappeared. The old hokage sighed, exhaling a cloud of smoke once again.

"I'm sorry, Itachi san, but it was the only way…"

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.

.

"Samui-san, you are on duty today?" Samui looked up from her desk to look at the anbu before her. They had raven dark hair pulled back in a pony tail that reached halfway down to their shoulder blades with the traditional sword on her back. However, this anbu had the mask of a raven for their face; that was unusual as most of the anbu masks were based off of non-flying creatures. Come to think of it, she didn't think she'd _ever_ seen this anbu before. Was this a new recruit?

"Hai, anbu san, I am. What can I do for you today?" The anbu glanced around the room, then made a seal and moved looked Samui directly in the eye…

.

.

.

Sakura was a bit sad. She kept thinking that if she just stayed close to Sasuke that he would eventually fall for her, but he never did give in to it. They were just friends… She sighed, hugging her knees as she leaned against the tree.

"Why can't he see?"

"They-they're just like that." Sakura jumped in surprise, looking up to see Hinata standing there holding two lunches. "You left yours in the room," she said. "Sasuke-kun saw it and asked me to bring it out to you." Sakura opened her eyes wide.

"S-Sasuke-kun asked you to?" Hinata nodded and Sakura's face brightened for a moment before falling. "But he didn't bring it you himself…" Hinata gave a sad sigh before sitting down next to the other girl. She passed over the other girl's lunch. Sakura took it (gomen) and slowly began to eat as Hinata did the same. They ate in silence for several minutes before Sakura paused and asked Hinata a question.

"Hinata, what did you mean when you said, '_they're_ just like that?'" Hinata blushed and begin to twiddle with her fingers.

"We-well, that is, I um…" Sakura waited for her to finish her sentence. She was realizing what Hinata meant, but decided to let her finish. She didn't have to wait long as Hinata made herself say the words.

"that is, I l-like Naruto, like you like S-Sasuke, and what I meant was that, um, they can be a little…"

"Oblivious," Sakura supplied, thinking about Naruto and how he never noticed the Hyuuga girls blushes, but she also sighed. "I don't think so, though. Sasuke's a lot different than Naruto is. I mean, Naruto's pretty dense in general, no offense _(n-non taken)_ but Sasuke? He knows very well that we all like him, but he _chooses_ to ignore us."

"No," Hinata mumbled, "I meant he's oblivious to himself." Sakura looked at her oddly.

"Huh?" Hinata screwed up her face for a moment.

"Naruto says he likes you but doesn't know it! AH!" Hinata started to gasp and take in air to compensate for the adrenalin it took to say something that, with one word change, would perfectly describe _her_ situation with Naruto.

"N-Naruto says Sasuke…_likes_ me?" Hinata nodded, still sucking in air.

"Y-yes, he does. He j-just doesn't let things in s-since…" Sakura winced. Sasuke had _definitely become more introverted since the massacre._

"So, he just, pushes it down, then?" Hinata nodded.

"Th-that's what Naruto says, and h-he knows Sasuke-kun very well. They are brothers, after all." Sakura nodded, a small smile back on her face.

"Well, then, it seems we're both the victims of idiocy, so cheers!" She held up her thermos like a wine glass and Hinata giggled before doing the same.

"Cheers!" They laughed together for the rest of lunch before the bell to herd them inside went off. Then, as they were packing, Sakura got an idea.

"Hey Hinata…"

"Hm?"

"What if we helped each other out…" Hinata got a little wide eyes, but she was _definitely _interested in what Sakura had to say…

.

.

.

_Wh-where am I? What's going on?_ Samui had never been in such a place, but one moment she was staring into the face of the anbu before her, the next she was sitting in some sort of introverted world, and yet she didn't feel afraid.

"Sorry about that, but you see, I'm still learning to control this place." Samui jumped as she saw a woman sitting at a table with tea cups and a tea kettle. "please, join me." Samui hesitantly stood and walked over before kneeling down with the woman. The colors were a little less introverted here, but it still skewed her vision badly. Her tea was poured and she carefully tried a diagnostics technique she'd learned before quiting the hospital to take care of Sasuke and Naruto. Nothing happened.

"What?" The woman laughed.

"Sorry, but in the world of the mangekyou sharingan, nothing exists but the will of the user, and I as I said, I'm still learning to control it." Samui looked carefully at her _host_ before putting her cup down.

"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" The woman smiled.

"Yes, this introvertedness does make it hard to recognize others, doesn't it." The smile had never left the woman's face. "But really, you're a bright young girl, and I've already said everything you would need to piece it together." Samui shook her head in surprise, wondering what had been said. Then she jumped up in shock.

"Mi-Mikoto! Is that you?" Mikoto laughed.

"Yes, of course dear! I just wanted to speak to you without anyone suspecting a thing; this new level of sharingan has it's uses beyond the torture…my son used that night…" Her face was saddened, and it was in a much more somber mood that Samui sat down to sup her tea. After a few minutes Samui spoke up.

"So, Mikoto-chan, what is it that you wanted to tell me here?" The tea was firmly placed down.

"My training is done; I'm going to start looking for him, Samui." Samui held in her gasp, and held back the tears that threatened to fall down her face.

"I, I see." She pondered for a moment. "Have you, have you learned anything since last we met?" Mikoto shook her head.

"No, I have only trained, besides momentary jaunts in the village to see my boys." Mikoto smiled. "They seem to be growing up quite nicely, so thank-you, Samui-chan, for taking care of them." Samui blushed slightly.

"I, it's no problem, really. It was the least I could do." Mikoto waved a hand at her.

"Nonsense. We both know you gave up your nursing career to take care of those two, and your only connection to my sons is through my _other_ son. You have done _so_ much for us." Mikoto smiled, placing a hand on Samui's. "So for that, I must thank you." Samui tried for a moment more, but then the tears cascaded down her face, and she embraced Mikoto, sobbing into her.

"Shh, shh, now there, it's all right Samui, it's all right…" A few minutes later Samui was wiping the tears from her eyes, apologizing for the scene. Mikoto again waved it off.

"Now, I expect I'll be gone for long periods of time, but I promise, I'll come back as often as I can, understand?" Samui nodded and they hugged once more before returning to the real world. "Just make sure my boys keep knowing they were loved by me…"

"Of course…"

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.

"The hokage has given me an S rank intelligence mission; only he is to know the details, so for now, just file it under 'Koto' and that should be sufficient. Understood?" Samui nodded, working to keep her face normal. The anbu nodded, then disappeared in a poof of smoke, Samui writing down the necessary information.

Meanwhile, an old, bandaged man looked on, wondering who this anbu was that he'd never heard of before, and what this 'S' rank mission was…

**So, that's the new chapter for ya! How's you like Hinata and Sakura's little talk they had?**

**Oh, and before someone says something about Mikoto having the mangekyou sharingan, well, what about Kakashi, eh? We _know_ he's not the kind of guy to kill a best friend, so how did _he_ get a mangekyou sharingan? Thus i reason that Mikoto,driving to do such training, would have had the ability to unlock her's as well, though i'm still trying to figure out a reason. I'm planning on an important flashback once i get it all figured out for sure how it's done.**

**SO, hope you enjoyed, please review, and enjoy the week!**

**ps- to those poor students grade 12 and below, good luck on surving another year of school. I pty you... ;P**

**nah, it's not all bad, but life gets better, i think once you're done with that and you move on to college and stuff. good luck!**


	9. When Girl's Plans Come to Naught

**Well, i haven't done a chapter this short in a long time. It was hard to write though. I didn't know what i wanted to do with this chapter, but as started to write after about the fourth or fifth attempt, it suddenly started coming together. So, this is basically a mini-fluff chapter. Nothing really big happens, but I think it's kinda cute. I'm getting better at working with Sasuke's character, too, which is something that's bothered me ever since i started this fic. He's just really hard for me to write for some reason... ****oh well! **

**So, i hope you all enjoy; please review! (remember, all my stories are set up so that even if you don't have a fanfic account, you can still review)**

**disclaimer: not mine=kishimoto's**

"Alright then, that complete the review for the exam," Iruka said. "I wish you all good luck in passing and becoming shinobi of the hidden leaf. Class dismissed!" Iruka smiled as his students filed out the door (besides Sasuke who took the window to avoid his fan club; poor kid). Naruto and Hinata just sat there talking for a little bit, however, as they had been doing for months. Iruka chuckled under his breath and walked over turning a seat around and sitting down on the other side of their desk and folding his arms on the back of his chair.

"Do I really _have_ to keep reminding you that school is out when I say class is dismissed, Naruto? Not that it would hurt you to come to class a little earlier…" Hinata smiled faintly, covering her mouth with her hand so Naruto wouldn't see.

"Ah, Iruka sensei, that's mean!" Iruka laughed.

"Ah come one Naruto! All the jokes you play on me, and you can't take one back?" Soon Naruto laughed too.

"Heehee, guess you've got a point there sensei!"

"Aaahhh…Hey Naruto, Hinata." Hinata perked up, wondering why Iruka was looking at them like that, slightly confused.

"Yeah sensei?"

"Why do you two always stay after anyways?" Hinata's face became down cast and she looked down while Naruto grimaced.

"Eh, Hinata's family keeps telling her no to hang out with me for some reason; I don't get it though! I mean, come on, the two of us practicing together has really helped out our jutsu and stuff. If it helps so much, why don't they just let us be?" Iruka sighed. He knew why the Hyuuga were so insistent on this, even if he couldn't tell Naruto. He didn't _want_ to tell Naruto, either; it was something that would hurt the boy dearly.

"I can't say, Naruto, why they treat you like that, but I _might _be able to help out with that somewhat…"

Naruto and Hinata both perked up at what their sensei was saying.

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.

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Sakura was waiting for Hinata at the town square, wondering when the girl was going to show up. They had already planned things out to end up in an informal date with the two boys they liked, but if Hinata didn't show up soon then they'd have to put it off to another day! _Arg, why can't things ever work out. It's like someone's _trying_ to keep us away!_

"Oi, Sakura." Sakura froze. That was _not_ who she'd been expecting; nope, not at all. She turned her head slowly to see Sasuke walking up the street, slouching and with his hands in his pockets.

"S-saskue-kun! Wh, what are you doing here?" Sasuke lifted an eyebrow, but ignored her odder than usual behavior.

"Well, I was heading home, then I thought I'd meet up with Samui-chan since she'd about to get off of work. She usually tries to carry a bunch of papers home, more than she should." Sakura nodded.

"Oh, of course. That, that's very considerate of you." Sasuke shrugged and began walking again. The pink headed girl let her face fall in disappointment before she heard Sasuke's voice again.

"So, you coming or what? Doesn't look like you have anything better to do." He had paused and was looking over his shoulder at her. She instantly perked up, smiling brightly.

"Of course! Just a second!" _Sorry Hinata, but it was getting late anyways. We'll try again some other time…_ And so Sakura walked next to Sasuke the rest of the way to the tower, talking about the exam later that week.

"Hn; I just Hope Naruto doesn't fail," he said. "He's such a dobe, but we promised…" he broke off, that look in his eye that he got sometimes. Sakura wondered what it was, but she felt like she shouldn't ask. It seemed rather personal.

"Oh I'm sure he'll be fine. Hinata will push him hard to make sure he passes." She giggled. "I think she'd sell her soul to be on the same team as him, actually." Sasuke smirked.

"Yeah; heh. That dobe's a real knuckle head, not figuring out that she likes him yet." He shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder what I'm gonna do with him." Sakura just giggled again, enjoying his company, and hoping that Naruto was right for once.

Just then Sasuke stopped at looked to the side, up at the top of a building.

"Sasuke-kun? What is it?" He shrugged.

"Nothing; come on, let's go."

Watching as they left, _Koto_ smiled beneath her mask. _Hahah. Looks like he's doing just fine. I hope he asks that girl out, soon. She seems nice._ Looking at the sun in the sky she moved on. _Now, just where _is_ Naruto anyways?_

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"I see," Hiashi said, looking hard at his daughter, while sat behind her teacher, Iruka. Hiashi understood that, though still relatively young, Iruka was a superb teacher. Still, this _was_ something of an unusual request.

"How many other's have requested this of you, Unimo-san." Iruka smiled slightly and shrugged his shoulder.

"No one, actually, Hyuuga-sama. It's only that Hinata here wants to make sure she does her best to please you, so she asked for the extra sessions for the rest of this week before exams." Hiashi rubbed his chin.

"What would you say the chances are of my daughter being able to improve significantly if I grant this request?" Iruka thought for a moment.

"I would say that you would see a marked improvement versus if she did _not_ attend the sessions I would give her." Hiashi nodded.

"Very well. Hinata!"

"Hai!" She looked up at her father, a slight worried look on her face. After Iruka had suggested this she had been put out, thinking that it would not work. Her father was very much one who believed in the strength of the Hyuuga, and she knew that she was a disappointment to her, even if he was the one that she wanted to be like in strength. She thought that he'd want to keep her training in the compound. Was she wrong after all?

"Hinata, you are to begin these extra sessions starting today, if Unimo-san is able, and you are _not_ to be a strain on your sensei. Is that understood?" She bowed down, hiding her smile.

"Hai, father." Hiashi stood up.

"I hope she is not a disappointment to you, Unimo-san, though I am grateful for your willingness to do this for her. I hope she does not prove to be a disappointment." With that he left, leaving Iruka with a sour taste in his mouth. He may not have had too many memories of his, but even he knew better than to treat a child of your own blood with _that_ kind of attitude. Still…

"Hinata, you heard him," he said, putting a smile on for her as she rose from, her bow to look at him questioningly. "He said starting today, and I think I have another student to add to our class. Her look back at him was pure joy.

"Hai sensei!"

A few minutes later they were out walking back to the school. As they neared their destination, they saw a young blond boy sitting on the swing outside. It was Naruto, who had been waiting for Iruka to come back with news on how their plan went. Seeing them he jumped up and ran over, holding his hands tight, raised around his face, with hope in his eyes and, speaking very quickly, delivered a barrage of questions to his sensei.

"Well how'd it go sensei? Did it work? Will she get to stay and train? Will I get to stay and train? Do we get to work together? HOW'D IT GO?" Iruka laughed, Hinata smiling shyly.

"Well, let's just say that she was sent straight back here, and unless someone _else_ wants to join, the two of us will be beginning extra sessions immediately."

"YAY! YEAH! WHOOHOO! YES!" Naruto was jumping up and down in the air, hollering his joy, and then begging to be let in, too, making both Iruka and Hinata laugh at his antics.

"Hahah, Naruto! Just get inside already!" Iruka continued to laugh as Naruto grabbed a, now _very_ red, blushing Hinata's hand and ran to the doors to start. He did pause for just a moment, looking over his shoulder and a nearby roof. _What was that?_

Koto sighed happily. Yes, the boys were doing well, and it looked like they _both_ had girls that were interesting in them…though they might need some nudging to actually _do_ something. The Anbu chuckled lightly. _Oh Kushina, your boy is growing up so well…I wish you'd been here to see it, my friend…_

With that final thought, the anbu left to prepare for the coming weeks that would come. It was time to uncover the mystery. Itachi would be found, and the purpose of his treachery would be revealed...

**So, that's it for this one. Starting here we'll be seeing little bits of 'koto's' mission as she tries to piece things together and find out why Itachi did what he did. Of course, it WILL be rather hard, as will tracking him, and only Samui, the third hokage, and those two anbu from before are even aware of her existence (though as you could see, Sasuke and Naruto could sense her presence to a certain extent).**

**Coming up next: graduation exam! Have a nice week!**

**ps- if anyone wants to suggest anything for Mikoto (and kakashi) managing to unlock the mangekyou, feel free to suggest, but i've got a pretty good idea for it now. :)**

**also, i'm looking for a new name for the story, so if anyone has suggestions, please include it in your review!**

**pps-for any naruhina fans, i recently did a one shot for that one. It's on my profile, so feel free to check it out.**

**Laters!**


	10. Time of the Test

**Okay, so this took a bit longer than i intended it too take... I'm sorry about that. Seems like every time i start getting this stuff going, something happens to interrupt me and it ends up taking forever! At least it's only two weeks and two days this time.**

**So, hope you like the new chapter. I'm trying to find a balance between Naruto the spaz, and Naruto the boy who was raised with the Uchiha's. I thinking I'm starting to get it. Tell me what you think.**

**Read, review, and enjoy!**

**generic disclaimer**

**.**

A white haired shinobi was still awake, looking over papers again and again. The more he looked, the more frustrated he got. _Darn it, I can't find a single thing to use against him; not _one_ thing that won't arouse his suspicion. He might be a fool but he's not a stupid fool._ Frowning, he looked again at Naruto's reports. They had begun as mediocre to average, but then they had risen to plain old average in the past two or three years. Come to think of it, it was about the same time that he had become friends with that Hinata girl. He paused then shook his head. _No, as a Hyuuga there would be too much danger involving her. If only I could be sure that he would fail…_ A grin lit up his face as he turned from his seat to look over at a well locked cabinet. A cabinet that contained the next day's written tests…

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"You didn't sleep again, did you?" Sasuke pointedly didn't look at his brother, preferring to focus on the breakfast of eggs and sausage in front of him while Naruto continued to stare at him accusingly.

"Well, I don't like it, he said. "Here you are, always going off on _me_ when I don't sleep or even when I sleep in, and you woon't even _answer_ me when _you_ don't sleep?"

"Naruto! No shouting at the table!" Naruto blushed.

"Sorry, Samui chan. But it still isn't right." Samui grimaced. She'd heard him voice his thoughts last night before she went to bed, so she knew why he had stayed up.

"Well, perhaps not, but keep in mind that it may be something he doesn't want to talk about." Naruto folded his arms and 'harrumphed' to show his displeasure, but soon unfolded them so he could go back to eating, letting Sasuke have his quite time to brood, all the while thinking that it was so annoying when he did that. Meanwhile, Sasuke noticed that Samui seemed to be an odd combination of happy and sad over the past few days. He looked at his pseudo mother out of the corner of his eye, wondering why it was that she was doing that. He looked up in surprise when there was a knocking at the door, especially when Naruto jumped up, his frustration at Sasuke completely forgotten and ran to the door.

"I'll get it," he yelled out. The two remaining people looked at each other in confusion.

"Do you know…" Sasuke shook his head.

"No idea." Of course, a moment later their questions were answered, somewhat, when Naruto came back into the dining room with Hinata in tow…followed by Sakura.

"Wha? Naruto-kun, what's going on?" Hinata and Sakura blushed as Naruto just smiled a little embarrassed, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, heh, I guess I forgot to tell you. Hinata said she'd walk me to school to help me calm down and focus for the exam today, and since her family really doesn't like us hanging out, she decided to bring Sakura along to make it look more normal; you, just in case someone else sees, got it?" Samui covered her mouth to hide her chuckle. She thought that she 'saw' a bit more than he did. Hinata wasn't just trying to calm him down, she was trying to get him to notice that she wanted to be more than just friends…and such a move was unlike her, so she was probably working with Sakura so that they could _both_ get 'their boy's' to fall for them. Oh, it was too precious!

"Well, in that case, we have a little extra food left. How about you join us for the rest of breakfast?" as expected, both of the girls blushed, but what almost made her laugh wasn't the blushing, it was the two boys both giving each other an expectant glare only for it to change to shock. It seemed neither one realized why the other expected them to get one of the girl's chairs. Of course, Naruto just laughed and ran to get Hinata a chair while Sasuke shrugged and slowly followed him.

The rest of the breakfast was actually quite animated, for this home. Sasuke's lack of conversation usually kept Naruto from talking too much, and Samui didn't push either of them most mornings. She'd just barely gotten up herself and so wasn't usually in the mood to deal with two loud boys. This morning, however, she had the day off in order to celebrate graduation with Naruto and Sasuke. The unexpected presence of their guests made conversation flow easily, and by the time they left for the academy, all four were much more relaxed, walking down the street together.

Samui sighed as she leaned against the door frame. It reminded her of a dream she'd had once, one where she and Itachi were married and had their own children, and seeing them off to the academy. A small tear slipped down her cheek.

"Itachi-kun…"

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_Hn, easy as pie_, Sasuke thought, putting the finishing touches on his test. He didn't even bother to look over the answers. He didn't think even Naruto would have trouble passing- _wait, what the!_ Sasuke looked over in shock to see Naruto not only done, but rather relaxed and wearing a smirk on his face fit to split the walls of the village. _How the _heck_ did that dobe finish before I did?_ He wasn't the only one to wonder about it, either. A few other students had glanced over at the blond now and then, surprised by the speed with which he was doing his test. A few grumbled, but it wasn't like there was anything they could do about it.

Of course, had Hinata seen this, she would have realized that there was something wrong with Naruto's test, but she was sitting two rows in front of him, due to the assigned seating arrangements, and never had a clue that Naruto's test wasn't like the rest of theirs.

"Alright, time to hand in your tests," Iruka called out some time later. Mizuki stood to accept the tests as the students filed out to their next test portion, taijutsu.

"We're going to pair you off," said the proctor, "into groups of three. In these groups you will first demonstrate your basic knowledge of the academy jutsu, or in some cases, your family jutsu. At the conclusion of this section, you're group of three will be paired off with another group, making it a three on three team spar with both instructors judging all six of you." Sasuke was lucky, and they paired him up with another good taijutsu fighter from their group, Inuzuka Kiba, and also with a kid named Ka. His taijutsu wasn't anything special, but he _could_ take quite the beating before he went down. It was a good team for taijutsu. Naruto, however, got paired with Inoichi Ino, who didn't use much taijutsu to speak of, her clan techniques focusing elsewhere (not to mention _her_ focus being elsewhere) and a small girl who's name Naruto almost forgot. He shrugged it off, though, as he figured that in taijutsu he was more than enough to handle whatever other group was thrown at his. He looked around, noting that Sakura and Hinata had been put with Nara Shikamaru. He shook his head, wondering if he was actually as smart as Sasuke guessed. He said that Shikamaru always answered the first few questions on any test really fast, and got them right (_no, I was _not_ cheating you baka! I was just wondering if he'd actually done any work_), but muttered something about the whole test being 'troublesome' and leaned over to take a nap.

Sasuke hadn't gotten the chance to ask Naruto how he finished his test so quickly.

As it turned out, Naruto _did_ perform the best in the taijutsu section of his group; Ino's taijutsu was sub par, and while the small girl they were paired with had great form, she already sported a sweat from merely demonstrating the academy taijutsu. She just didn't have the strength for the upcoming taijutsu battle. Of course, as luck would have it…

"Groups C and F come here," an instructor called out, and the Uchiha boys winced. Sasuke was in C, Naruto in F. The two groups lined up in front of each other, and Ino started to squeal even before Naruto and Sasuke met each other's eyes.

"Oh! Sasuke-kuuuun! Oh I just know you're going to pass. You'll do great, especially against-"

"Oh just shut up already! Sasuke doesn't even _like_ you, and right now you're job isn't to fawn over him anyways; it's to _fight_ him!" Ino cross her arms and glared at Naruto who didn't' back down.

"Oh yeah? Shows how much you know! Why should we even bother fighting anyways? Everyone _knows_ that Sasuke-kun is going to win, even if he was on his own." All of the boy's eye's twitched, though Sasuke's was for a different reason than the others. He was only thinking, _please, someone shut this moron up!_ While the rest were thinking _he's not _that_ good! I'll show her._ Even Naruto had begun to contemplate how he would beat her to a pulp once the gong rang and the match began, but he quickly refocused.

_She's right about one thing; even if Sasuke isn't alone, he's still the most powerful of the three in his group, just like I am in mine. That means that I'm going to have to take him on myself…Ino's probably ensured me a minute to myself while the others go after her._ He nodded mentally, thinking of the best ways to beat his brother, eye's lighting up as he thought of a good one. All he needed was a couple free seconds…

"Begin!" shouted one proctor as another rang the gong, and they were off. As expected, Ino was immediately double teamed, and Naruto and Sasuke ignored everyone else as they charged each other, ignoring everyone else.

"Umm…what should I do?" Naruto's last teammate looked around with some confusion, trying to decide what to do. Seeing that Naruto was doing okay, though, she went to help her female teammate. Of course, she wasn't able to do much, but it _did _give Ino the time to half stand and scurry away behind a tree…not that it really helped. After all, the tree wasn't that big around, and even if it was, she was up against an Inuzuka. She was done for.

Back with Naruto and Sasuke, however, the two boys were furiously trading punches and kicks at high speeds, much like how they did when they spared alone together. A few other people had stopped their own matches to watch in awe as they displayed their skills, something that almost never happened. They tended to avoid fighting each other in school, so this was a rare treat indeed.

Finally, after one clash, they jumped back, breathing heavily. Naruto gave a smirk as Sasuke tried to keep his own off his face. Kiba and Ka were standing off to the side with their jaws dropped. Neither had realized the two brothers were _this_ good, and had quite forgotten that they were supposed to be fighting Naruto themselves.

"So, you ready to surrender yet Sasuke?" The Uchiha chuckled.

"Hah; I should be asking _you_ that!" Naruto's smirk became more mischievous and evil.

"Really? Say that again in a few seconds!" He brought his hands together. "Transform! Sexy Jutsu, blossom style!" There was a poof of smoke that surrounded him, but it quickly began to dissipate. However, not too many people were able to see what he had just done as he seemed to be able to control where the clouds dissipated from, and he kept most of them up until Sasuke had fallen over and passed out from blood loss, but a few people saw a pink haired girl that looked _quite_ familiar to them…fortunately, Sakura was _not_ one of the ones to see it, though Hinata blushed, realizing why Naruto kept so many clouds up.

There was another poof of smoke, and this time they all disappeared. He walked over to his brother's twitching form.

"Hah, told you I could be you; now what was that that you were saying?"

"Match is over," an instructor said before Naruto could get an answer. He looked over at him confused.

"Huh? What about Kiba and Ka? Don't I still need to fight them?" The Procter shook his head.

"If you hadn't cheated, then yes, you would. This was a _tai_jutsu test, not _nin_jutsu. That was an illegal move, so you fail." Naruto's eye's narrowed.

"Okay, I'll grant you that ninjutsu thing. That's a good point, but _one_ move shouldn't have to power to fail me all of a sudden, not after finally showing how well I can fight."

"D, dobe's right," Sasuke said as he pulled himself up, wondering why the _heck_ he fainted after seeing a nearly nude version of…Sakura? "All that _should_ be able to do is _end_ his exam. He's displayed his skills, and should therefore be graded on that." One proctor nodded as he thought about it, but the one would called out the fail was trying to not glare at the Uchiha.

"Cheating is cheating, and if you are caught cheating, you fail."

"That's not fair!"

"Oh yeah!" However, before they could continue, the bell rang to bring the students in for their final part of the exam, the ninjutsu section, which was announced to on the transformation jutsu. At this point, Sasuke began speaking quietly to Naruto.

"Naruto, something screwy is going on. That was total BS, not to mention how quickly you finished the written test." Naruto was just about to agree until he heard the part about the written test.

"Ah come on, it wasn't that hard after all. Just a bunch of random questions about friends and ramen, and who knows more about ramen than me? Personally, I don't see what that has to do with being a shinobi, but heck, whatever." Sasuke's eye's widened, as well as Hinata's and Sakura's, who were both coming up behind them.

"Naruto…that was _not_ on the test…"

"Huh?"

"N, Naruto-kun, Sasuke's right. The test was mostly made up of previous tests that we've had over the last two years." Naruto's face became really serious.

"Crap; I had a feeling, but I kept pushing it off. Guess I was just being a knucklehead again." Hinata put her hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright, Naruto-kun. I, I'm sure that we can get things figured out."

"No," Sasuke said, shaking his head. "I doubt that. Whoever's doing this is going to great lengths to make sure that Naruto fails. It doesn't even matter about this next part, Naruto _isn't_ passing. What matters now-"

"Is catching them so we have some proof that Naruto deserves to pass." Sasuke nodded as Sakura completed his thought, blushing slightly as he remembered Naruto's earlier move. However, he controlled himself and looked over at Hinata.

"Can you find Naruto's test? Whoever is the one that did it, is probably also the one who graded it." Hinata nodded hesitantly.

"I, I'll try…" A few moments later, Hinata was able to find it. "I found it but, but _looks_ j, just like the rest of the test, except for Naruto's answers." She blushed. "I, I'm your best friend," she asked, surprised. Naruto laughed.

"Of course you are, Hinata! Who the heck else would it be? And you don't count by the way, Sasuke, you're my brother." Sasuke rolled his eyes. So close, but the dobe was still so far from figuring out about Hinata.

"Whatever, let's focus.

"Alright, so Naruto's test probably had a genjutsu on it to make it look like he was just fooling around. Combine that with his taijutsu test, and someone wants him to fail. Most likely, there will be two things that could happen. Most likely, the person just really hates Naruto for some reason we don't know, and it'll take days of careful monitoring to find out who did it. However, option number two, they _want_ something from Naruto and will reveal themselves, making it a lot easier for us."

"Um, Sasuke-kun? How will that make it easier?" He smiled.

"Simple; they reveal themselves and we play along until we have the evidence we need to prove that Naruto _should_ have passed. They catch themselves, so to speak. But," he said frowning, "that is highly unlikely." Just then Naruto was called in to do his test. He sighed.

"Time to get the show over with…" Hinata jumped up and gave him a quick hug before jumping back down to her seat, hiding her face in her arms while Naruto just stared at her flabbergasted, blush creeping onto his face. Sasuke pushed him before he could say anything, though, and soon he was taking his test. Iruka hadn't looked at his grades yet, and was happy when Naruto produced two good clones. He knew Naruto had a lot of trouble with clones for some reason; even Sasuke seemed to have a bit of difficulty, but he was about ready to pass him when he finally opened up his folder to see his grades from the other two portions, and saw a big _fail_ on both of them. He had looked back up at Naruto, then down again. He almost looked resigned. Did he know already?

So, he had told him that he failed, when Mizuki spoke up for him, but Iruka had to put his foot down, neither of them noticing the shock in his eyes even later when Mizuki approached him while his former classmates were celebrating their graduation.

_Mizuki sensei….why?_

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**So, there it is, the new chapter. I decided to split it up, or else this would have taken even longer to update. Next chapter will, or course, be the one where Naruto gets the shadow clone jutsu, and there _might_ be a couple of surprises. Maybe. Ah heck, you probably already see things coming, but i want to pretend you don't, so i'm not going to say anything yet.**

**Again, thanks for reading, please take a few extra seconds to review. Have a good one!**


	11. The Trap

**Alright, as many of you noticed, i haven't been keeping very well to my previous bi-weekly update scheduale i had before. Well, i've been sucking at it so bad that i'm putting three of my four stories in hiatus...and this is one of the three. Reasons- Naruto of the Sand, the story i'll be continuing with for now, is both my most popular story, and it's the only one where i know exactly where it's going to end (not to mention that the ending is a considerably shorter time period than my other stories will be). Also, J. Sasuke happens to be one of my two least popular :( I like it, personally, but not as many other people do. It only has 18 faves and 11 alerts.**

**However, do not fear, i WILL be coming back to the story and finishing it. This is only a break. With a concerted effort, i think i'll actually be able to finish Naruto of the Sand by Christmas, so i can start picking up my others stories around then.**

**Anyways, new chapter deals with taking care of Mizuki. Tell me what you think!**

**Read, review, and enjoy!**

**generic disclaimer**

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The four friends were sitting on the ground in a clearing not far from the academy. Naruto was sitting against a tree, Sasuke on a log, and the two girls were sitting across from them, kneeling on the ground. Sasuke stared at the ground, thinking hard as Naruto finished telling him and the girls what had happened. Both Hinata and Sakura looked horrified that Mizuki would do such a thing.

"But, but that means he's trying to steal the scroll," Sakura said. "That would mean he's betraying the village!" Naruto nodded darkly, hugging his knees.

"Yeah, and he's using _me_ to do it…" He swung his arm, slamming his fist into the tree behind him. "I'm sick of this! Everyone hates me for no reason! I never did anything to anyone!" He stood up.

"I'm gonna beat Mizuki sensei to a pulp!"

"Calm down, Naruto," Sasuke said as he continued to think, but Naruto wasn't having any of it.

"No! This is it! I'm sick and tired of the people in Konoha treating me like trash. You haven't had to deal with it bro, being treated like scum, people staring at you like you killed their brother or sister or something. I'm done! I'm not taking this crap anymore!"

"N, Naruto…" Hinata had stood up as well and put her hand on his arm. "Please, maybe Sasuke has an, an idea, and right now n, none of us could beat Mizuki sensei anyways." Naruto closed his eyes, breathing deeply, tears forming, but not falling, in the corners of his eyes before he spoke again, voice shaking with barely controlled anger.

"Alright, Hinata; for you, I'll listen." He said back down heavily, arms crossed. "So, _do_ you have something to say Sasuke?" Sasuke gave a small smirk.

"Actually, yes: do what Mizuki said."

"_Nani?_ But that just helps him-"

"Unless we make sure that we're ready for him when he comes," he said. "Hinata's probably right. Since Mizuki is a chuunin, we _shouldn't_ be able to take him down, though either of us might actually stand a good chance. The four of us though? If the four of us work together, we can beat him. We just lie in wait where he's sending you and make sure you get him to confess to cheating you out of passing, then attack and take him on. With four reliable testimonies there's no _way_ they can deny us, and you'll be passed." All three of the other young teens were looking at him with amazement. It _was_ a good plan, and Naruto was even starting to grin in anticipation.

"heh, this will be just like all the pranks I used to pull back in the day. Yeah, I _like_ this idea!" It was agreed; they nodded, then they all left, Sasuke and the girls to the location Mizuki had told Naruto to meet him at, Naruto to get the scroll. Sasuke had complete confidence in Naruto's ability to get in and out without getting caught; just because he hadn't done any _real_ pranks in the last few years didn't mean he'd lost his stealth ability, _and_ his memorization of the secret passages in the hokage's tower.

Sure enough, in just a little while Naruto had made it to the clearing, scroll in tow.

"Alright, now we just have to wait for the alarm to be raised. Hinata, you'll keep an eye out with your byakugan, right?" She nodded.

"Hai!"

"Good. Naruto, you've dealt with village 'security' the most with some of your old pranks; how long do we have?" Naruto scratched his chin as he thought.

"Hmm… probably an hour before someone notices. The old man just left for tea right before I went in, and he always comes back in and does calligraphy for a little while before getting back to work and heading home. He'll be the most likely to see it first." Sasuke nodded.

"Good. We have plenty of time to prepare for Mizuki sen- for Mizuki. Sakura, he studied his profile and figured out what types of traps would work best, right?" She nodded. She'd had to read quickly, but it pleased her that Sasuke had trusted her with this, citing her high intelligence as the best for planning for such a situation. He looked back at Naruto. "Well, ready to get to work?" Naruto looked at the scroll in his arms.

"Actually, just in case, shouldn't I have a go at this? And besides, it's a scroll with high rank techniques. It would help us…" He looked up at his brother, pain in his eyes as Sasuke read him, and he understood just what he meant. He looked around.

"Right; you never know how it will really take, and even Mizuki might get suspicious if he gets here and it does look like you've been trying." He sighed. "I'll help set up traps…but if we have time, maybe I'll take a look, too." Naruto smiled weakly, nodding.

"Yeah…thanks," he said, whispering the second word so only Sasuke heard. Then they all got busy, Naruto letting his desire to find out the truth of his older brother fuel him. Half an hour later, the others were trying to set a difficult trap together multiple wires that would release a barrage of kunai at their soon to be former sensei.

"Alright, you hold it here, and you there," Sasuke was saying as they set the wire when Naruto leap up, crouching beside him on the branch.

"Hey, need some help?" Sasuke looked at him in mild surprise. "What, done already?" Naruto smiled.

"Heheh, maybe, but what do you guys need help with?" Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Whatever; we're trying to set these wires to trigger a bunch of kunai to get thrown there," he said, pointing at the different spots, "but we're having trouble keeping it tense while we hide the wires out of sight. It's a hard trap to set with only three of us." Naruto grinned so wide it almost split his face.

"Oh, so you need more people, huh?"

"Yes you dobe! So stop wasting time and-"

"Shadow clone jutsu!" There was a lot of smoke, but when it cleared the other three were shocked to see a few dozen Naruto's in the surrounding branches quickly getting to work setting the wires.

"They, they're s, solid!" Sasuke nodded at Hinata's exclamation, slowly turning to look at the scroll left on the ground, then back at his… _brothers_. "Sakura, make sure Naruto keeps getting these traps set right; there should only be a few more; I'm going to see if I can't get this jutsu down before Mizuki gets here…" and with that he jumped down and began to pour over the scroll as the girls looked on in awe. Sakura had read about the shadow clone technique, but it was supposed to take a Jounin level chakra to make one…how much chakra did Naruto have if he could create this many? And what about Sasuke? Hinata had also read of it, even seeing her father create one to display certain Hyuuga techniques without injuring anyone. She, too, wondering at Naruto's strength, smiling for a moment before remembering that she needed to keep an eye out for Mizuki, and with Naruto now able to provide as many people as they needed for their traps, she could put all her focus into being their 'early warning' system.

"Hey, need some help," Sasuke heard, looking up to see Naruto standing there. He rolled his eyes.

"I've barely started, you know."

"Yeah, but we're getting shorter on time and everything, and since I _just_ learned it, well then, I can help you learn it faster to make sure we're ready for Mizuki teme." Sasuke grinned.

"Yeah, good point; let's get to work…" About twenty minutes later…

"Naruto! He's coming!" Hinata jumped up from where she'd been sitting, concentrating on her byakugan. The two brothers looked at each other and nodded, the Naruto there poofing away (he was using a clone to help me out that whole time?) and the real one jumped down, though he stumbled when he did.

"Wha-! What made you think I-!" He broke off as he realized something. "Wait a second…how did I know you talked with my clone about…about Hinata," he said, whispering the last part so no one else could hear. Sasuke raised his eyebrows with interest.

"No idea," he said, "but we'll save that for another time. Right now Mizuki is coming. You and Sakura set the traps?" Naruto nodded. "Alright; let's hide in the hut over there like we planned. Go! And Naruto, make sure you look convincing!" Naruto laughed and reassured him as he sat down and started going over some of the steps to learning the jutsu he'd worked on earlier, thankful that Hinata had helped him out so much with his chakra control over the last couple of years; he was sure it made a difference in how long it had taken him to learn the jutsu. A moment later someone entered the clearing, but it wasn't Mizuki; it was Iruka.

"Hah, got you," he said, leaning over his pupil. Naruto hid his shock. _Crap, Iruka sensei wasn't supposed to be here! Is he working with Mizuki, or is it an accident? I'll have to wing it…please Iruka sensei, not you too…_ Similar thought were going through the other teen's heads, and they let out a collected sigh of relief as he, rather successfully played the part of learning a jutsu to pass. Hinata berated herself for not paying close enough attention to recognize Iruka, but a moment later Mizuki appeared and attacked, and she realized that Iruka had come from a different direction than Mizuki, and she just hadn't been looking in all directions…she clenched her fist. _I can't make mistakes like that… if I do, I'll never be worthy of Naruto-kun…_

Sasuke watched everything with increasingly narrowed eyes. _Iruka sensei's always been good at trailing Naruto, could he could have come here by accident. Did Hinata make a mistake? No, there's Mizuki now. Alright, this should be…wait, he knows why people get mad at Naruto all the time? What is it?_

_He, he's what?_ Sakura looked over at Naruto in shock. _But, but the Kyuubi's dead! Isn't it…_ She looked over at Sasuke and Hinata, shock all over their faces as well, but both shock it off in a moment, and she couldn't see any fear or hate in them. She looked back at Naruto. _Is, is _that_ why mom and dad never wanted me to be around Naruto? But if he's _really_ the kyuubi, wouldn't he be, you know, more…evil? Naruto's a good guy, and he and Sasuke love each other like brothers, even though Naruto was only adopted. Wouldn't the kyuubi hate Sasuke?_ She had pity in her eyes now. _Why is everyone so stupid? That baka is no kyuubi, even if it's inside him._

_Naruto-kun, no, don't feel bad! We, we'll be right with you when this is over. I, I still love you, no matter _what_ is inside you._

_Hmmm…this village is full of morons…_

_No…no! I, I can't be! I, I, I don't _think_ I am…but then, why does everyone hate me? Does Iruka sensei hate me, too? Sasuke, Samui, Hinata and Sakura? Do they hate me?_ He closed his eyes, not wanting to bear the thought of everyone he thought of as friend hating him, and of having killed so many people in the village. Then he heard the sound of metal piercing flesh and clanging against more metal. He opened his eyes to see Iruka kneeling over him, protecting him from the shuiken and kunai Mizuki had just thrown at him, and Sasuke standing behind Iruka, kunai in hand. He must have knocked more of them away.

"Why, why? Why are you doing this for me?" Iruka opened his mouth, but Sasuke spoke first.

"You're my brother; no matter what Mizuki says, I know you aren't the kyuubi; setting out to make sure you failed is one thing, but even if you're the jailor to scum like the kyuubi, I've lived with you your whole life." He turned to face him, looking over his shoulder. "You're too dumb to be as old as that fox." Naruto raised a fist and yelled at him.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean!" Iruka laughed.

"He's just saying what I would have, if in a different way. Naruto, Mizuki's right, I lost my parents to the kyuubi, but I remember the kyuubi, and _you_ are not _it_. You are Uzumaki Naruto, my student, and the only one who can keep the kyuubi in check. _You_ are this villages protector." He smiled. "And I'm proud to stand protecting you, a shinobi of the leaf village." Naruto smiled, pushing himself up and going to stand beside Sasuke.

"Alright then, let's show this traitor who's boss, eh Sasuke?" Sasuke nodded and they each brought up their hands, speaking together.

"For the injustice you've done, prepare to die! Shadow clone jutsu!" The area was soon filled with dozens of Naruto's and Sasuke's, all cracking their knuckle menacingly. "It's payback time!"

"Wha, huh, ahh!" Mizuki tried to turn and run, shocked at seeing so many of his enemies, but he was met with a series of nets and kunai out of no where, causing him to fall back…and then out of the tree, right in the middle of the crowd. The last thing he saw before he was engulfed by the boys was Sakura and Hinata standing in a nearby tree, holding onto wires that he relized must have been set to trigger the traps.

"NOOOOOO!"

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The hokage sighed.

"You all realize, of course, that you took into your own hands what you should have reported to me? You know I trust your word," he said. Sasuke shrugged as Naruto chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. The two girls were waiting out in the hall while Iruka took them inside to see the hokage and report on what had happened in the forest, leading to the boys revealing Mizuki's actions that caused Naruto to fail his exam.

"Hokage-sama, perhaps you should go light on them; after all, with their actions we have sure proof of Mizuki's… treachery." The hokage rubbed his temples as he raised his head to stare at the ceiling.

"Iruka, you know how hard it is to get through the day when Samui barges into the office on her day off so she yell about Sasuke and Naruto disappearing? Not to mention Naruto's 'failing' of the exam. Besides, who said I was punishing them? I'm just feeling my age today, and _trying_ to impress on these two boys that there is a way that things are supposed to be done."

"Hokage-sama, we know this, but with all due respect, don't you think if we hadn't the council would have tried to uphold the decision to fail Naruto? In the little time that we had, I felt we acted properly."

"Well, we should have told Samui-chan _something_ though," Naruto said. "We just went off without even seeing her at the graduation ceremony." Sasuke's eye twitched in irritation, though he knew that Naruto was right…and he'd get an earful from Samui later. Sarutobi relaxed a little, smiling as he leaned back in his chair.

"Well, I guess things aren't going to bad if Naruto is learning to be responsible; now, how about we get Naruto his headband and see to actually healing those wounds on your back instead of a quick bandage, Iruka, eh?" Iruka smiled.

"Thank-you, Hokage-sama." He turned to Naruto, reaching up to his own headband. "Well, the rest of the headbands are already locked back in their cabinet at the academy, but I can get one for myself later…here you go," he finished, giving Naruto his own headband. Naruto took it gingerly.

"You mean it? I can have your headband?" Iruka smiled.

"Ah, it's old anyways. I was needing a new one; this just means I don't have to be the one to replace the cloth." Everyone shared a short chuckle at Naruto's expense. Of course, he just rolled his eyes, bowing and thanking Iruka for the gift, immediately putting it on, replacing the goggles he had gotten from Hinata with it.

"Thank-you, sensei." Iruka ruffled his hair.

"No problem. I'll see you around," he said, walking out to report to the hospital.

"Now then-"

"Well where are they!" Sasuke and Naruto cringed. It was Samui.

"Well, now I guess I'll release the two of you to Samui; remember to report to the academy next week for your teams and sensei…if you survive, of course." With that, he stood and left, opening the door and gesturing Samui in, who immediately ran up to the two boys, hands on her hips.

"Well? What do you have to say for yourselves? I was worried sick! And Naruto, how did you manage to fail the exam, huh? Didn't those extra study sessions do you any good?" Naruto raised his head first.

"I'm sorry, Samui-chan, but…someone rigged my test to fail me, but I ended up passing in the end!"

"Yeah, someone sabotaged the dobe… and we're sorry we just ran off without telling you, Samui-chan." Both were surprised when she dropped to her knees, pulling them both in for a hug.

"It's okay, I'm sorry, too; I was just so worried." She leaned back, a hand on each boys outside shoulder. "Naruto, Sasuke, I'm glad you passed; you've made me so proud, but please, don't worry me like that. I don't know what I'd say to… to the hokage if you two really went missing." Sasuke noticed the hesitation, but let it pass. She was stressed and it was their fault. It was probably nothing.

"There, there's one more thing," Naruto said, lowering his face again. Samui scrunched her eyebrow in confusion.

"What? What is it?"

"I, I know you weren't here when it happened, so you probably didn't know…but, th, the reason everyone hates me in the village…we found out tonight-"

"About the kyuubi," she said. The boy's heads jerked towards her in surprise. She had _definetaly _come to the village after the law had been passed that kept everyone from revealing that secret, so how did she know? Of course, she saw the confusion on their faces, and answered with a sad smile. "I, itachi-k, kun told me, back before…you know…" Naruto nodded, pressing on.

"So you, you don't mind?" She smiled.

"Why should I? You're Naruto, aren't you? You don't look like a fox to me!" Naruto laughed and soon they were all headed home.

_I wonder, _she thought, _ should I tell them the truth yet? That really, it's Sasuke and not Naruto who possess the kyuubi?_

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**Didn't initially intend to have Hinata and Sakura there, but i felt that it added a little bit the foursome's dynamic, showing their skills and relationships. Hope you guys liked it, though. I had fun writing it, but alas, it took so long...and now i'm going on hiatus again...grrr... Sorry, but until i can be consistent with my updates, i only want to be working on one story at a time, and for now, well, Naruto of the Sand is the one closest to the end, so i'm finishing that one first.**

**Anyways, tell me what you thought of the chapter, and till next time, take care! (and happy Halloween!)**


	12. Buried Secret

**Alright, it's been while, hasn't it? Sorry about that. I just barely finished Naruto of the Sand, and it took ALOT longer than I expected when I started it. Still, I managed to learn a good deal about writing, and I hope I can implement those lessons as I continue this story again.**

**If you don'r recall too well what's going on, I would suggest skimming past chapters. Very handy when trying to re-hash on a story that hasn't updated in over a year. Also, feel free to leave reviews on those chapters while doing that. Possibly because this story has Sasuke as a focus, it isn't too popular and so hasn't gotten as much attention as some of my other stories. So please, indulge me, those few of you that are actually reading this, and leave me some reviews, okay? Thanks.**

**Notes for this chapter, well, not too much real story progression. Just a few small, but important, events for the characters. In addition, we get to see where 'Koto' is starting off her investigation. She finds out some interesting things...**

**Well, this is it, time to read the new chapter. enjoy!**

**disclaimer-I don't own Naruto (note-this stands for all remaining chapters after this point. Don't make me repeat it, please?)**

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She'd been over the reports again and again. They kept leading her to the same place. This was almost as out of place as what she already knew he did. None of made sense. But...there was a chance. After all, the reports also showed that he _must_ have done _something_ to gain the additional power that he had. Could this have been it?

"Earth style...hmm." She turned. "Yes? What is it you need?" Several men wearing masks without markings came up to the Anbu with the Raven mask.

"Koto, I believe," the largest one said. "I'm afraid that you are not authorized to be here." She snorted.

"And what gives you that idea?"

"It has been decreed."

"Not by the hokage it hasn't."

"Really? And what assignment might the hokage have given you that would allow you to trasspass here?" She snorted again.

"You expect me to fall for that? Or for this," she said, whipping a hand back so hard that it broke the mask of the nin creeping up behind her. She took a stance. "Do you wish to continue this facade, or admit what you're really here for?" The big one sighed as he motioned for the other three to draw their blades.

"This could have been much easier if you had been willing to cooperate, Koto. Now we will have to bring you in by force."

"I'm sorry, but while I may once have been sub-par, I have had sufficient reason to go beyond my limits. You will find me hard prey."

"...Very well." The four nin merged on her in one movement but she read their every twitch, knew every feint they tried. Their bodies betrayed them to their deaths as she dealt death upon the three support nins, cutting the legs out from under the leader. She knocked him out as he fell to the ground and quickly tied him to a post and searched his mouth. Instead of poison she found a seal. She spat in disgust. Whoever had sent them knew how to cover his tracks. Still...there was _one_ way around this. Her eyes glinted as she raised smelling salts to his nostrils. As he violently awoke she forced him to look her in the eyes.

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"Samui, would you come here for a moment," Hiruzen called out.

"Hai, Hokage-sama! Just give me a moment..." Samui walked in carrying a large stack of papers in need of review. Academy graduation always carried with it a load of paper work as the graduates had to be prepared to be given a more adult status, fitting their possible rank of gennin (provided they passed their new senseis' tests). "I just finished organizing the post-graduation paper work; if you work hard you may be able to get it done before the end of the day this time. I was very careful in my organization." That just made it harder for the Hokage to say what he wanted. He grimaced.

"Thank-you, Samui. Would you please take a seat?"

"What? Okay..." After resting the papers on his desk she took a seat, bewildered at his resigned tone. "What is it, sir?" He took a draught from his pipe.

"You have done very well these last few years as my secretary, and the job you have done for the boys in your care is marvolous. If I didn't know better, I would call them your own." Samui bowed her head.

"Please, sir, I owe it to Mikoto-san. If it were not for...that incident, _she_ would have raised them. She _ought_ to have raised them."

"Agreed, but I think she would have agreed with me that have done spledidly in her stead."

"If I may ask, Hokage-sama, what is the point of this conversation?" He took another moment to smoke his pipe.

"I am well aware of the things you have given up in order to be there to raise Sasuke and Naruto. You gave up your dream to be a nurse. A doctor, even, I believe is what you one day wanted."

"Hai, Hokage-sama, but I have never-"

"Yes, I know. Still, the boys will be shinobi now, and they will be more active than they were before, earning their own income as they take on their official mission, provided they pass their sensei's test, of course. Rest assured I have no reason to believe they will fail," he quickly added, reassuring her. "If anyone could possbily succeed at their chosen sensei's test, it is them."

"Of course they will pass it," she said. "They are brilliant boys, and even if one didn't, the other would refuse to continue until they would be together."

"Yes, I know of their dedication to each other. My point, however," he said, emphasizing said point by shaking his pipe, "is that they will no longer require the degree of supervision and support they have in the past. If you desired, though I shall miss your tidyness and organization, you may be able to once again return to your previous profession." Samui blinked.

"Are you saying..."

"Yes. If you so desire, I will assist you in applying to become a nurse again."

.

.

.

"Where am I?" The question was meant to remain unsaid, but nothing was hidden here, as the root Anbu was soon to find out.

"You are right where I left you...tied up in the graveyard." The man shook his head, trying to get rid of the echos of the voice that spoke to him.

"No, this is no graveyard."

"Correct; _this_ is no graveyard. _This_ is my mind."

"I see. A genjutsu then? Odd. I didn't detect any of the usual signs..." His eyes darkened. "Why can I not break out?" The disembodied voice laughed as a dark figure appeared, walking up to him slowly as it swayed back and forth.

"No one can break out of this genjutsu; no one except they who possess the mangekyou sharingan."

"There are none that possess such a thing," he claimed, eyes narrowed.

"Really? Now why would that be?"

"The Uchiha were wiped out. Danzo-sama assured us that Itachi would be of no concern to us."

"Oh? Did you _really_ kill them all?" The man shook his head.

"Who are you that you do not know that Uchiha Itachi himself committed the deed?"

"I," the woman said, raising her face so that he eyes met his, "am his mother...and you will tell me everything you know. The next 72 hours, you are mine, and I will _break_ you!" The man tried hard to withstand the pain, but in the end he screamed in terror as he realized he would suffer more in these 3 days than ever he could have believed possible for as many life times.

.

.

.

"Thank-you for taking us out for ramen," Sakura said, smiling at Sasuke.

"It was Naruto's idea," he muttered.

"Yeah! A celebration for graduation, and for taking out Mizuki so bad! Hahahah! I still can't forget the look on his face when he got caught by Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan's traps just to be thrown into all of our clones! Bwahahaha! I'll bet you he won't be able to come out of the fetal position for months!"

"I, I think it's simply nice that you were able to, to pass, Naruto-kun." The blonde smiled at his dark haired friend.

"Heheh, yeah, and it's all thanks to Hinata-chan calming me down that I listened long enough to hear Sasuke's plan."

"Pft. You should have been willing to anyway, dobe."

"Aw shut up, bro. Its just another lesson learned." He looked down darkly. "Although, I guess that wasn't the only thing I learned that night." Hinata reached out a hand hesitantly to lightly touch Naruto's shoulder.

"It, it doesn't matter to us," she said. "We l, l, like you for, for who you are."

"That's right," Sakura firmly supported. "We're friends no matter what!" Sasuke smiled slightly, quickly covering it by moving more food into his mouth.

"We're glad you know you feel that way," Teuchi said. "It's not every day that something like that comes out."

"Yeah; I was only barely old enough to remember it all when it happened," Ayame spoke up. "Actually, I was a little scared of Naruto when he first came around here, but then I'd watch him talk with dad whenever...well, all those times he came to visit when he was younger," she said, covering up the almost mention of Itachi, "and I realized what a nice kid he was."

"Heheh, thanks Teuchi-san, Ayame-san."

"No problem. Now, a second helping for everyone, in honor of true friends. What do you say?"

"Alright!"

.

.

.

Koto stood over the corpse of the root anbu in disgust. Danzo was a smart man, she decided. She had gained little from this man. Still, that little disgusted her. She glanced back at the grave of her son's best friend, one of the only other Uchiha who loved the village as a whole more than the clan. One of the only ones who would have stood against Fugaku in his attempt to overthrow the village. He understand the loss of life that would have occurred.

Still, the man had only mentioned _one_ of Shisui's eyes. He had been there when they attempted to take them, but they had only succeeded in taking one from him before he fled, and while his body had laid here for years now, there was never an attempt to gain the other eye. Granted, it would have been unusable now, what with the decay, but...

"Earth style, risen earth jutsu." She took in a breath as she wondered at the casket. It was simple, un-decorative. Undisturbed. Did she want to see inside? No. She _had_ to see inside. Thankful to the mask for blocking out the smell, she forced open the casket. The man's body was remarkable preserved. His features, though wrinkled, were still clear, as was his smile. No, it was more of a smirk, she decided. She reached forward, inspecting his eye sockets. One showed massive damage, appropriate to his eye having been ripped from his socket. The man who had done the deed must have gotten over confident because it was evident that Shishui had escaped, given that his other eye showed no signs of trauma. In fact, what remained showed that whoever had taken the other eye had done so delicately. Whoever had done it had honored the person who's eye they were taking. _Itachi...was this you? _Koto sighed. There were little answers to be had here, but at least she could warn the hokage to be careful around Danzo. It would not do to have him influenced by the eye that Danzo carried.

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.

.

Samui sighed in relief as she took off her shoes at the front door. From the looks of it Naruto and Sasuke were already home. It was actually surprising. Most days they would be out sparring still. It seemed that this was one of their relaxation days. Indeed, as she walked into the main room they were sprawled on the floor and the couch, though Naruto sat up as she greeted them.

"Naruto, Sasuke, how was your lunch with the girls?" Naruto grinned.

"It was great nee-chan! We even got a second helping for free!"

"Not that it stopped him from pigging out on another three bowls after that," Sasuke said.

"Hey! Ichiraku is good stuff!" Samui laughed.

"We know, Naruto, we know. Now, you take your registration pictures tomorrow. Are you ready for them?"

"If Sasuke can ever get his hair to sit down in back we'll be ready. Ow!" Sasuke played innocent, laying on the couch and reading a book while Naruto rubbed his head from where he sat next to the couch, and in easy reach of Sasuke's fist. "Jerk!"

"Dobe."

"Duck-butt head!"

"Ramen freak."

"Emo!"

"Knucklehead."

"Grrrr!"

"Naruto! Sasuke! I haven't bee raising you these last few years to brawl in the middle of the living room!" They both winced.

"Sorry, Samui-chan."

"...I'm sorry." She sighed.

"It's okay. I'm sorry I yelled," she said. "It's been a long day. You don't mind if you just have leftovers tonight, do you?"

"Sure. There were some tomatoes in the fridge anyway."

"Meh, I'll never get why you like them so much."

"Healthier than ramen," Sasuke shrugged in response, getting up and heading to the kitchen. _Besides, you know how to talk to her better than I do._ Naruto nodded to Sasuke while Samui let herself fall into Sasuke's position on the couch, covering her face with a pillow.

"So...how was work."

"Hm? Oh, normal."

"Then what made it a long day?"

"Oh, nothing really. Some days are just like that."

"Uh huh..." They remained in silence for several moments.

"Naruto...do you...like living here?"

"Of course! Sasuke and me love it here!"

"You don't resent me at all?" Naruto got quite as he looked at her sideways before getting up and hugging her around the waist.

"Nee-chan, after all you've done, how could we? Sasuke and me would've been on our own without you." Samui moved the pillow so that she could look into Naruto's eyes.

"What if you _were_ on your own? Like, say I wasn't able to be around anymore. What if the Hokage made me start working late? Or you just didn't see me? What if I never was able to cook you anther meal again, and this morning was the last one you ever had?" Naruto looked at her funny.

"What? That's a crazy question."

"Samui-chan, is the Hokage trying to make you work late? We'll be fine, you know," Sasuke said from the doorway. She shook her head.

"No, no, that's not it. It's just..." She sighed. "You know _I_ don't resent you two, right?"

"Of course! Nee-chan is the greatest?"

"What if...what if I couldn't take care of you anymore?" Sasuke shrugged.

"We'd get by. We're older than we were, and if you can't, you can't."

"Well, _I_ still say this is crazy talk," Naruto declared. "What's _really_ going on?" Samui looked away.

"The Hokage...he told me that, that I could go back to being a nurse, if I wanted."

"That's great! Wait, you loved that, didn't you? What's the problem." She hugged Naruto to her.

"I, I wouldn't be around as much," she said. "I wouldn't be able to take care of you very well any more." Tears began to fall down her face as she continued. "You are so important to me," she said, "and I would _still_ give up anything for you two. I want to be a nurse again, but you two are so much more important."

"So? Go back to nursing. We're old enough to look after ourselves now," Sasuke said. "I don't see why you should worry about it so much." He ducked the pillow that Naruto threw at him.

"Idiot; what he _means_, is that we're big enough that you don't need to worry about us all the time. We love you, and we want you to fulfill your dreams, too. This is your chance, and we think you should take it."

"But, but I promised Mikoto-chan-"

"Mom would want you to, too," Sasuke said. "You've done more than she ever could have asked. We'll be fine." Samui hugged Naruto tightly as she cried. It wasn't long before Sasuke joined them, adding another comfort hug to the mix. To them, Samui had made possible all the effort they had put into training for their dreams, and this was their time to pay her back.

.

.

.

"Ah, Samui-san. Have you made a decision on what we discussed yesterday?" The woman nodded.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. I..." As she told him her decision he wondered if he wouldn't get too many headaches in the days to follow.

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.

.

"Are you sure you want like this," the photographer asked again. "This is highly unconventional."

"Yes, we are sure. Can we take the picture already?"

"Yeah, yeah! We've been waiting for forever now! Come on, take the picture." The photographer sighed again.

"Alright, if you're sure. We'll still have to take it twice, though; one copy for each of you. Are you ready?" Sasuke glared.

"We've been ready since before you started asking these stupid questions. Are you going to take it or not?"

"Alright, here we go..."

"Alright! This is gonna be so sweet!"

"Yeah...just make sure you have your mouth shut when he takes the photo." Naruto elbowed his brother quickly before resuming his pose. Naturally Sasuke was serious while Naruto smiled broadly, flashing a thumbs up to the camera with his closest hand. The two of them were wearing their typical clothes while standing back-to-back, Sasuke on the left and Naruto on the right. The pictures were taken with the same spirit that they did everything else; together.

* * *

**Whew! That was some intense stuff, I think for how little time it takes place in. Biggest question I would want to know, is did Samui decide to stay as a secretary or not. Remember, one of the reasons she wanted this job was to help figure out what happened with Itachi. That could give alot of incentive to stay on. Yes, she had the dream to continue in the medical field, but she also wanted a family with Itachi. Which dream wins out? You'll figure that out next chapter.**

**Also, what did you think of Naruto and Sasuke's photo at the end? It's an idea I've had for a while, but since I wasn't updating this story I never got to use it. I just wish I was a good enough artist to draw it...and keep in mind, Naruto isn't wearing the same clothes as he did in the manga. I've described them in the past; I just didn't want to do it again here.**

**Next chapter, teams! Who will be on the team with these 2, eh? Sakura or someone else? Sensei still Kakashi? Those of you who've read my other stuff should already know the answers to those questions, but for the rest of you, you'll just have to wait for next chapter! **

**Take care ya'll! **


	13. A Tangled Wire Web

**Just a note...I've skipped over the team assignments, just because. The chapter actually flowed better without it, I think. Hopefully you won't kill me, but you'll still figure out the team pretty easy, I think. A little bit on Koto, a tad on Samui and the Hokage (heheh, poor guy) and of course team 7. Read and enjoy!**

**.**

**And please...review, too. PLEEEEEAAAAAESE? O.O**

* * *

"Is this true," the Hokage asked, looking through the papers had had been given a few moments ago.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. I deemed it important to my search to look into the death of this man, and then this came to light." Hiruzen nodded.

"Yes...this _is_ rather disturbing...I shall have to consider carefully what to do about Danzo." He stroked his beard a moment before looking up again. "Koto, why would Itachi take Shishui's eye?"

"I...am not sure," she replied, "but Shisui had a very powerful genjutsu ability that may have come from his eye, as I'm sure you've heard. Perhaps Itachi wishes to use it from something?" The old man nodded.

"Yes...that may perhaps be..." In spite of himself he wondered what Itachi could possibly be up to. Apparently there was more going on than Itachi let on when he departed the village. "Continue your investigation, Koto. This is too important to ignore."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." She left the office, wondering at the empty secretary desk before leaving. _I'm not sure what I could tell her anyway. So far this only confirms what we've been told.__ I do hope she and the boys are doing well. _

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.

.

"I don't think he's gonna show," Naruto said. "I mean, what kinda jounin would wait this long to pick up his team, you know?"

"Well, maybe he was on a mission or something before they assigned him."

"Nah, they would have let him know sooner...and they would have told us."

"He's right," Sasuke said, eye twitching in annoyance. "Either something else is wrong...is he's a really new jounin. Possibily a bit inept."

"Well, I wouldn't say _that_," a new voice said, a masked figure with one eye covered appearing next to Naruto.

"Ahhh! Hey, when did you get here?"

"Oh, just a moment ago. You see, as I was going out of my house this morning there was a ladder right over my door. To avoid bad luck I had to go out a window, but just then the wind blew really hard and I was thrown into the river. Then I thought a swim might be nice and I lost track of time. Sorry I'm late!"

...

"Does he really expect us to believe that," Naruto asked his teammates out of the side of his mouth.

"Yeah...he isn't even wet," Saukra replied. Kakashi sweat dropped.

"Yes, well, anyway, lets go meet up on the roof, shall we? More fresh air; then we can get to know each other a little better." He flickered away before they could object so the three found themselves headed up to the roof and were slightly surprised that their sensei was waiting for them.

"What do you know...he _isn't_ late for everything."

"...I think I've gotten a good first impression...I hate you guys."

"Heheh; the truth hurts, doesn't it?" Kakashi held back a glare.

"Moving on, I believe it's time to introduce ourselves. Shall we?"

"Okay...we already know each other, so how about you go first?"

"Me? Alright. I'm Hatake Kakashi, jounin of Konoha. I have a lot likes...I have a few things I dislike...and I really don't think my hobbies are any of your business."

"...Right. That it?"

"Yep, that's it. You're turn."

"Uzumaki Naruto. Genin of Konoha. Same as you said." Sakura opened her mouth to tell Naruto to be more respectful to their sensei but was cut short by Sasuke.

"Uchiha Sasuke. Genin of Konoha. What the dobe said."

"Eh? Huh? Umm..." She looked back and forth between them for a moment before hanging her head. _Well...it _is_ kinda funny. And you know what they say about payback sensei!_

"Haruna Sakura. Genin of Konoha. What they said."

"...I _really_ don't like you guys."

"Well hey, you started it. If your example was the template, then I think we got it spot on, right?"

*sigh*

"Fine, have it your way," he said. _I may enjoy this test more than I should. Should I feel bad about that?_ "Well, meet tomorrow as training ground three for your final test."

"Hey wait a second," Naruto shouted, "we were already tested! What's up with that! Sasuke and me have something important to get to!"

"Heheh, well, granted, they never tell he graduates about it, but the academy really is just a similated test. They don't know for sure who can make it out here in the _real_ world of shinobi, they just identify possible candidates and then leave it to those of use who are out in the field more often to guarantee that you kids have a chance, or should be sent back."

"Fine. So what is this 'test' we'll be doing," Sasuke asked.

"...Survival training," Kakashi said, eye grinning.

"Wh, what kind of s, survival training?" Kakashi turned his gaze to the questioning kunouchi.

"You three...against me. Seven o'clock, don't be late," he said, bringing up his fingers to form the shushin handsign. "Oh, and I'd suggest skipping breakfast. You'll probably throw up if you don't. Bye."

"...well, this is going to be interest," Sasuke said, standing up. "Shall we take a walk?" Naruto and Sakura gave him questioning looks before their faces brightened.

"Ooooh, I get it."

"Yeah, Sasuke-kun, that sounds like a_ great_ idea."

.

.

.

"Ah, Samui, how was the orientation today?" The dark skinned woman smiled.

"Oh it was very nice. I got to meet several old colleagues while I was there. I'm certainly a little rusty, but I think I'll manage just fine." He nodded.

"Good to hear. On the other matter, have you, ummm...?" She smiled.

"Oh, perhaps. I have a couple candidates for assistant secretaries, but I'll need to run them through the ropes to make sure they're up to the task of keeping you busy." The Hokage surppressed a groan. He had rather hoped that he'd be able to get out of some of the work load Samui had always been prompt to inform him of, but it seemed she insisted on not only finding a way to work both at the hospital _and_ still be his secretary, but personally finding an assistant or two that _she_ could work with, and that met _her_ standards. He mentally whimpered at all the time that would be missed working on his calligraphy.

"You know, you can take you time. I'm, I'm sure it will be a hard adjustment to make, getting used to the change." He whimpered as Samui leaned towards him, hand on her hip and wagging a finger at him.

"Oh no, Hokage-sama. I know you better than that. You're not getting out of work _that_ easily. You've had enough chance to catch breaks just today while I was at orientation."

"But, but there was a meeting..." She grinned.

"I know." The Hokage's face twitched. Of course she knew that. She_ made_ his schedule. There would never be any peace!

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Don't forget to review when you get to the end, k?

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The next morning saw training ground three quiet and empty, despite it being seven. The birds chirped and took flight in the dewy morning air, and the wind softly ruffled the leaves of the trees. Only noticable to the keen eye was a thin wire stretching across the main clearing. Dew formed and slid from one end to the other till it formed a large enough ball of moisture to fall to the ground below. Come 7:30, the training ground was still empty. 8:00. 9:00. 10:00. 10:01 the figure appeared and looked around in surprised curiousity at the empty field before tripping on the wire that had long since dried. Flocks of birds took flight as a loud gong sounded.

"Finally," a voice shouted from the woods. Tearing into the clearing, still trailing the remnants of his sleeping bag, Naruto bounced in. "Do you have any idea what time it is sensei? We showed up 10 minutes early, just to be on time for your stupid test, and we've been waiting for...hey Sasuke, how long has it been?" Coming out of the woods in a much more orderly fashion, Sasuke pushed his hair down and tightened the band of his ninja band as he answered.

"I'd say it's about 10:00 now, Naruto. Good call to nap in the shade. It's a bright day out." Following him a blushing Sakura also emerged from the woods.

"Yeah, I'd say about 10, too. The angle's right for it, based on those poles. I calculated it out last night."

"Okay, so, 3 hours then," Naruto said, nodding with satisfaction before turning back to his bemused teacher. "3 hours, sensei! Three-_hours!_ Where the _heck_ have you been?"

"Well I was on my way here but then a black cat crossed my path and I had to go around the long way. What were you three doing? And why do you have that bag, Naruto? I know you weren't camping because you said you three showed up at ten till seven."

"Hey, you said survival training, so we figured we better come prepared for anything," he said. Kakashi chuckled.

"Good thinking, but it won't do you any good in this test. You see, your test...is fighting me." Naruto paused midway through cracking his neck while Sasuke rubbed his eyes and Sakura moaned.

"What? Oh come on sensei! That isn't even fair!" Kakashi shrugged.

"Hey, the life of a shinobi isn't fair, either. Shinobi save peoples lives...and _end_ people's lives," he said, his voice suddenly much more serious. "I can't take a team that isn't ready to deal with the challenges that are the true life of a shinobi, rather than the pretty dreams you kids seem to always make them out to be."

"Alright, so when do we start," Sasuke asked, stretching his back and cracking his knuckles as he and Sakura arranged themselves at 60 degree angles with Naruto..

"Well first we have to set some rules," Kakashi said. "First off, remember that _I_ make the final decision as to whether you pass...or fail. Second, you have till noon to acomplish a given goal. Third, if you fail to achieve that goal, you don't get lunch," he said, pointing to three bentons he had managed to place before tripping. "Fourth, your goal is get one of these bells," and here he lifted two small bells from his weapons pouch, "from my possession. I will not be going easy on you, so you should come at me with lethal force if you expect to get anywhere. Lastly...if you fail to get a bell...you fail." Naruto grit his teeth at the final pronouncement. Sasuke's eye twitched at the implications. _So...either I'm without Sakura...our friend Sakura...or without Naruto, the brother I promised to find Itachi with..._ He clenched his fists. _This test is a load of..._

"That's crap sensei!"

"Oh? And how is that?"

"How can you only pass two people! That's not how it works!"

"Y, yeah," Saukra agreed. "Even ninja squad has three team members on it, so you _can't_ fail one and pass two!"

"Can't I," Kakashi asked, turning his gaze on her. "_I_ am the one in charge here, not your pretty little rule book. What I say goes...and I say...you start now."

"NOW!" Sasuke shouted out the command, throwing his hands to the ground and clutching two clumps of grass, mirrored by both Naruto and Sakura. All of a sudden an interconnected web of ninja wire was raised into the air all around their sensei. In fact, the strings stretched out into the forest. Kakashi stared in shock as they pulled the wire tightly into his skin, keeping him from being able to use hand signs and even cutting into his skin the slightest amount.

"So...what now? It seems I really underestimated you guys."

"Heh...just goes...to show...you," Naruto grinned, sweat forming as he held tightly to the wires.

"Yes, I suppose. Still, this obviously needs all three of you to keep me trapped, so it seems like I win. You can't let go and keep me trapped well enough to get the bells before noon, and I've endured far greater pain than this."

"Well, you're right on one count," Sasuke countered "_We_can't let go."

"But then again," he voice came again, followed by Naruto's at the edge of the woods.

"Maybe we don't have to." The copy-cat ninja blinked.

"Not clones...shadow clones?"

"Heheh, yeah," Naruto said, rubbing his nose as the two clones walked up to him through the wire network. "I little trick we picked up a few nights ago."

"I see...and just how well thought out _was_ this little manuever?" Sakura shrugged towards Sakura as he plucked the bells from Kakashi's belt.

"We figured as a group that, even if it was secret information, we could get a gist of what sensei's usually do by going through past records at the library. Sakura found the information first, about how most sensei tend to match themselves against their new team to test their skills. So, we figured that since a shinobi's best skills are stealth, deception, and surprise, we just needed to be a little unpredictable. Sakura formulated the plan, and we spent half the night preparing for it."

"I see...still, now that you have the bells, what will you do with them?" Sasuke looked at Naruto, who nodded back, face much too grim compared to it's usual jovial visage. Sasuke closed his eyes, taking a deep breathe before walking over to Sakura and looping the belts over the edge of one of her fingers.

"Sakura...Naruto and I have a promise to keep, and neither can go on without the other one. We pass or fail together. We don't want to leave you behind, though. If you take _both_ bells, you get to have a jounin all to yourself, giving you all the attention you deserve. Naruto and I will pass next time, with a different trainer. Here, the bells are yours. We won't take no for an answer."

"They're...mine," she asked, voice quavering. Sasuke nodded as she eyed the bells, feeling like three pairs of eyes were boring into her soul. It was true, she could a unique opportunity to have a jounin instructor all to herself, giving her the kind of training that most never got, and with one of the most powerful shinobi of the leaf village, as they had discovered the previous day in their research. But...could she allow herself to be separated from her friends? She shook her head. No; they deserved better than this, and she was going to be there to support them in their dreams. She let the bells fall to the ground, raising her head.

"I pass you my friends, or I don't pass at all, either," she declared.

"No-" Sasuke and Naruto shouted out.

"Yes," came Kakashi's voice as he sat on the stumps nearby. "That was the right answer." A poof of smoke later and the wires slackened as the shadow clone dissipated.

"Wait...what?" Kakashi smiled.

"Sorry if I sounded a bit harsh, but you guys passed my _real_ test," he informed them. The Uchiha raised an eyebrow.

"Real test? Are you going to explain that."

"Of course," he said, beckoning them over to him before pointing out a stone behind the three wooden pillars. "On this stone here, as you may know, are the names of the hero's of the leaf village, those who gave their lives so their comrades might live. A lesson that several of these heroes, these _friends_ and teachers taught me, is that while those who break obey the rules, like the ones I set you, might be trash, but those who abandon their comrades are _worse_ than trash. You three, like every team before you, thought that getting the bells was the real test, but unlike the others you were thinking as a team from the very beginning, even before I told you the details. Even knowing that only two of you_ could_ pass, you did not deviate from the spirit that was your companionship and trust in each other. Not a single one of you hesitated when I told you to begin, and remained acting in unison. Even then," he said, "I was scared that you might fail, becoming selfish like others have and and deciding to value yourself over the others, but you were _all_ willingly to give up your dreams, at least until later, for the benefit of your friends." He hopped down from his podium, giving them a thumbs up.

"Congradulations team seven; you are now officially gennin of Konohagakure, so let's eat up!"

"Whoohoo! Yeah! YES! We did it! We're gonna do it! We're ninja! Yaha!" The other two sat down and began to eat, smiling at Naruto's celebrations and looking forward to getting on with their ninja careers.

* * *

**Soooo, the Hokage knows something he didn't know before, eh? That is a bit of a surprise, isn't it? For Koto it is a very perplexing bit of mystery to the over all even greater mystery of what Itachi was up too, and why he was so careful in taking out Sishui's eye. Not to mention preserving the body when he could just as easily have destroyed it.**

**Speaking of the Hokage, though...poor guy! He's never gonna get a moments rest, is he? And how did you like my solution for Samui being a nurse but still staying in the loop as far as information passing through the Hokage's office goes?**

**As far as the test, I'm citing what the characters did with Mizuki earlier in the story to prove that they_ would_ think to set traps ahead of time for this test. Also, this prefaces Sasuke's significant difference in personality with Naruto being in his life as a brother and still having someone as a mother figure in his life. His focus is a bit different now, and since he isn't alone in his goal he is willing to be a bit more patient.**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Come back next time!**


	14. First Missions and Stories

**Okay, so I'm rushing the A/N's right now because I need to leave for church, but I wanted to get at least ONE of the two chapters that are due to post today before church started. Hope you like! Gonna get started on wave mission now, but this team is much better prepared than the cannon one. They're _almost_ a well oiled machine, and certainly more mature as a whole. Naruto that not-so-knucklheaded-but-still-unpredictable-ninja, Sakura the _not_ fangirl, but still in love with Sasuke, and Sasuke the still broody but no so lonely Uchiha. Read on and tell me what you think.**

**Don't forget to review!**

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"Come on you two, it's time to get up; get out of bed _now_ or I won't let you have breakfast." Sasuke rolled over and slowly sat up while Naruto covered his head with his pillow.

"Two more hours," came his muffled groan, followed by a yelp as his sheets were ripped from him.

"No sir, you need to meet with your team in _one_ hour!"

"Ahhh, but Samui-chaaaan, Kakashi sensei's always late, and the missions are so lame!"

"Na-uh," she wagged a finger at him. "I know all about your sensei, but as shinobi you have to keep up with procedure, no matter what, so get out of bed or else," she said, voice lowering to a whisper as she leaned in close, "I'll pay Teuchi-san to not give you any ramen for a month!" She blinked as Naruto dissappeared. "Huh? Where did he go," she wondered, looking around.

"mmm...probably dressed and...at the table," Sasuke mumbled, falling back into the bed with a groan. "He's gonna be...insufferable now..."

"Wow. I should use that threat to get him to do his chores...But don't think you can get away staying in bed, either, Sasuke. Up. _Now._" Sasuke rolled out of the bed, hitting the floor as he walked/crawled/dragged himself to the closet to get dressed. "Honestly," Samui said, shaking her head, "I swear, being an Uchiha must make it nearly impossible to get out of bed in the morning. Fine, be a slug, but don't blame me if Naruto finishes your breakfast before you get downstairs." Sasuke's only reply was a mumble as he pulled himself into standing position with the frame of his closet. Samui sighed before leaving the room, but a smirk found it's way onto her face before she entered the hallway. _Not really lazy, but certainly proud,_ she thought.

As soon as she left the room Sasuke's half lidded eyes shot open, making sure she was gone as he whipped on his clothes. There was no _way_ the dobe was going to eat _his_ half of breakfast!

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Sure enough, Kakashi was late. No one was surprised. In fact, they had been playing cards while they waited for him. Sasuke suggested it as a way to keep Naruto from moaning about how long it was taking. Just to rub it in, they had started to finish the game they were on before acknowledging his presence. At least today wasn't the _worst _of their missions, depending on how you looked at it. While not up to par with a shinobi, a cat has good stealth and evasion skills, so it _almost_ felt like a real tracking mission. Naruto even wondered if he was going to have scars to prove it, what with the claw marks from the cat all over his face and hands. Sasuke shared some ointment with him as they returned to the tower to help with the worst of the scratches.

"Well done," the Hokage told him as the diamyo's wife paid for the return of her cat. "I think that may be fastest anyone has ever caught that poor thing," he added in a whisper, eyeing the distance between them and the portly woman as she left, making sure she didn't overhear.

"I don't care," said Naruto. "It's just a dumb cat. We need _real_ missions, old man!"

"Naruto! You know better than-"

"No, let him speak, Iruka. I'm interested. Why should _you_, Naruto, a gennin, get missions reserved for higher ranked ninja?"

"Well, why _not_," was his reply. "We might be minus Hinata, but you're looking at a team that beat a chuunin already, aren't you? And Sasuke's and my own skills and experiace need to progress faster if we're ever gonna have a chance to find nii-san and make him answer for what he's done."

"Naruto...Itachi is already in the bingo book of every elemental nation. A number of people have already lost their lives trying to defeat him since he left, and higher ranked ninja than you are always looking out for him."

"Yeah, but it ain't the same for them as it is for us. No matter what, it'll _always_ be more personal for us then any of them, and since Sasuke is the only other guy with the sharingan, I doubt anyone else except us ('cause he needs my teamwork) can beat him."

"Hmmm...an interesting arguement...What do you say, Kakashi? You're their sensei." The jounin looked up from his book.

"Well, Naruto may be wrong about some of those facts," he said, smirking in amusement with the hokage as he thought of the sharingan, "but they _are_ a skilled team. You said it yourself that they captured Tora faster than any other team. It's because they work together better. If you have an easy C-rank, I feel comfortable with it." Then he put his nose right back into his book, gaining a blush as he got to a good part.

"Wha? Hoakge-sama, surely you can't be thinking-"

"Iruka, please, they are more than capable, and I have what appears to be an easy C-rank mission here for an escort to the wave country. Should be easy enough to keep them safe, and also keep Naruto out of my hair for a couple weeks," he said, sharing a grin with the blonde.

"Alright! Jii-san is the best!"

"Hn, way to go, bro."

_Cha! We're gonna kick BUTT!_

"Well, Samui is at the hospital now, so just go home and get ready after you meet the client. I'll take care of informing her when she comes in to check on her...assistant's progress." He waved to the door gaurd to bring in the client, wincing as he feared Samui would dismiss her trainee for letting him have too much calligraphy time that morning. "Team 7, this is your client, Tazuna the bridge builder." Sakura's eye twitched as the man walked in. It was faint, but there was still the lingering smell of liquor on him. _No surprise, what with that jug he's carrying_, she thought. Sasuke on the other hand stared in morbid amusement, awaiting the outburst from his brother.

"Aaaawwww, I was hoping it would be someone important!" _Well, not as bad as I thought, but still._

"I am important, ya brat," the man stated, taking a quick swig. "I'm tha' most important and best bridge builder in the Wave Country. You're just a little shrimp. Is this guy really my escort," he asked the Hokage, jerking a thumb in the annoyed blonde's direction. "Three brats, and he's the weakest looking one."

"Actually, they are one of out most capable gennin teams," Hiruzen informed the man. "I don't expect the opportunity to arise, but they would surely surprise you if they had the opportunity." Tazuna looked at them in disbelief.

"These runts? If you say so," he shrugged, taking another drink. "I'm ready to go now, so I'll meet you guys at the gates when you're ready." The room held a collective breath until the man left the room.

"Well, Naruto, I'm impressed that you kept your cool. Good work."

"Oh, don't worry," Naruto said, fists clenched. "He'll be singing a different tune when he wakes up the first night of camp covered in itching powder!"

"Narutoooo!" The boy quailed under the feared big-head-jutsu of Iruka before fleeing to pack for the trip, hoping Iruka wouldn't follow to stop him from adding itching powder to his supplies.

"Alright then, I've got a pack ready. You two go and and we'll meet at the gates as soon as everyone is ready. Sasuke? Take the itching powder out of his pack before you leave, would do?"

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"Did you _really_ have to do that? You know he deserves it."

"Sensei told me to. Besides, if you'd paid attention in survival class, you'd know all sorts of plants that either cause you to have an itch or can made made into a powder or paste to do the same thing."

"Meh, whatever. Most of that class was boring anyway."

"mmmm...it won't be when we go looking for Itachi." The mood between the two darkened as they looked down at the ground, lost in their thoughts.

"Nii-san..." Naruto turned his face towards his brother. "What if...what if we run into him on one of our missions? We're not ready yet; not by a long shot." Sasuke nodded.

"I _know_ that, Naruto," he snapped. "But the chances of running into _one_ missing-nin are too slim to count on. No, we're gonna have to travel to find him, when we're ready to take him on."

"Hey, calm down, Sasuke!" The Uchiha looked at his brother in surprise before shaking his head.

"I'm...sorry. Itachi just...makes me lose control, sometimes, when I think about what he did." His brother put an arm on his shoulder.

"Hey, I know man. You lost even more than I did, since I was only adopted, and now that we know about _you-know-what_, the clan hating me kinda makes sense." He paused. "You think that's why Fugaku always treated me so bad?" Sasuke shrugged, though inwardly he winced. He hadn't thought about that before, but it would make sense. But then...why did mother treat him so well? They would both had to have known, so why the difference in attitude.

"I don't know," he said simply, "but it's a definite possibility. Still, he's dead, so why worry about it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right...Well, let's just get this show on the road, eh? C-rank mission, here we come," he said, excitement back as he took off for the gate.

"Yeah...here we come."

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Several hours later...

"You did _what?_"

"S, Samui-san, please it, it isn't that bad..."

"Of _course_ it's bad," she yelled at him. "You have a responsibility here!"

"But, but its all taken care of," he said. "I-"

"You what? You put in some extra time today? You _always_ fall behind when you do this."

"It, it was just an extra half hour!"

"An extra half hour that _could_ have been spent working on vital village correspondence!"

"But, but my calligraphy-"

"Can _wait_," she declared. "You can do that at home."

"But-"

"No buts," she said, wagging a finger at him. "If I catch you using my lack of presence to go over your allotted hobby time while at the office again, I'll personally make sure," she declared, jabbing her finger at him, "that you don't leave the office until every-scrap-of paperwork-is done-for the next-month!" The Hokage whimpered. It amazed him that he had found someone to make him even more scared that Biwako had been able to.

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. Now, I'm going to get your things organized for tomorrow, but don't expect it to be done too carefully. I have to get home and make dinner." The color drained for the hokage's face. He hadn't told her yet.

"Um...Samui-san...about that...I kind of...sent the boys on a mission...outside the village. They'll be gone for...at least a week." Samui stoped dead in her tracks on her way out of the room, shoulders tight as she slowly turned around. In that moment Hiruzen wondered why it was that she had never become a shinobi. Orochimau himself would have been frozen by her killing intent.

"_What_ did you say?"

"Mimble-wimble..."

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review when done, please

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"You think she's gonna let him live?"

"Pft, once he manages to tell her that _you_ were the one to convince him to let us go, I'll worry about _your_ hide being safe."

"Really? Samui-san doesn't seem to be that scary." Naruto and Sasuke both suddered.

"Sakura, you only see her good side, but I'll tell you this now," Sasuke informed her. "If ever there was someone who belonged in T&I by natural right, it's Samui."

"Yeah, no kidding! Not that we're complaining, mind you, Samui-chan is great. But when you get on her bad side you better hope she's in a good mood. I went a whole week without ramen once because she kept me in my room!"

"What? Really? When did that happen?"

"It wasn't long after she took us in. Naruto tried to do something stupid. Did you putting itching powerder in the Inuzuka compound, or was it the public baths?"

"The baths." Naruto shivered, clutching himself. "I ended up on the wrong side, and one of Samui's old co-workers caught me and yelled that she was going to tell Samui. I high tailed it out, thinking if I left I could play it off as this story of just going to the wrong side of the baths by not paying attention, but the lady had my supplies and told her _everything_." He sniffed. "It was during break, too," he moaned. "No school, no training, no chance to sneak out for ramen."

"Serves you right getting caught like that."

"Hey, I've gotten away with a _lot_ bigger things than that!"

"Right. Next you'll be telling me about the time you dyed the ANBU's pant's pink with dissappearing ink again."

"It's true! I-"

Sakura chuckled as the two continued to banter. Tazuna looked at the small group oddly before walking closer to Kakashi.

"Are they...really okay? They seem very..._odd_." Kakashi didn't even look up from his book.

"Mah, mah, of course they are. That's what makes them such a good team."

"That boy does seem to like exageratting, though."

"...actually, he _did_ manage that last one. I was in the ANBU at the time, even if it was my day off. Only a couple agents had switched out to the other uniforms at that point, but they disguised it quickly, then they did a thorough inventory, which was why only they got caught in pink pants."

"What? How did he-"

"Hey Sasuke," Naruto said softly, cutting off mid-banter. "Does something seem off to you?" Sasuke raised on eyebrow.

"You noticed?"

"Well _duh_ I noticed. I'm not an idoit," he said. "So what do we do." Sasuke looked ahead.

"Follow sensei's lead. He likes acting ignoratant and crap, but he's paying attention." Naruto nodded.

"Alright."

"Ummm...what are you guys talking about?" Naruto and Sasuke shared a glance before Sasuke motioned over his shoulder, finger to his lips.

"Oh, nothing," he said outloud, speaking back at normal volume. "Just thinking of that time Naruto hid his clones in the river before attacking sensei." Sakura looked at him oddly for a brief moment before her eyes widened.

"Ooooh. Okay, I get it, I mean, I remember now." She nodded, showing she understood, and the group continued walking, but it wasn't long before the two puddles behind them were replaced with two shinobi, charging in the group of leaf nin.

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**Yup, that's where it ends. I had trouble keeping this from being a short chapter, but I managed to finds way to include stuff early. Samui has taken to being a motherly figure pretty well, hasn't she? Kind and caring a lot of the time, scary fury when ticked off. Poor Hokage...poor Naruto! (when they get back)**

**I kinda like the whole team being able to figure out about the puddles, and the way they communicate it. They really are a team, and they've come to understand their sensei's personality a bit better, being more mature than in canon.**

**Well, I gotta get to church. Surprise me with reviews for when I'm done, k?**


	15. Big Swords and Little Boys

**Hey everyone, sorry it's been so long. I had some issues come up that were only supposed to put a brief hold on my writing (school work) and then I had issues with my software. So beware, if you get a trial version of ANYTHING for microsoft, make sure you can either buy what ever level word it is that comes with that trial (I only had the super basic starter version), or have your files backed up somewhere else BEFORE the trial expires. What it will do is upgrade EVERYTHING you already have, and once the trial is over, EVERYTHING you TOUCHED will become inaccessible. You can't even copy and paste the stuff, believe it or not. It took a couple weeks to get that taken care of (for good reasons, I promise) and then I had to catch up on a bunch of school work I'd missed on.**

**BUT! Everything is fixed, school is almost over, and once I get married in...19 days (whoohoo!), my wife *silly grin at use of word* will make sure I get my writing done. She takes writing very seriously.**

**Okay, that's all I had to say. When we left off the demon brothers were about to attack, but all of team 7 is already on to them. Let''s see what happens next, and how much is going to be different for them.**

**ps-don't forget to review once you finish the new chapter!**

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When the demon brothers shot up from their puddle disguises, the leaf shinobi were ready for them. They never even reached the group as the three gennin turned to meet them, kunai in hand. The boys hit the handles of their kunai to the enemies heads, knocking them down and stunning them. Sakura, already pulling out her ninja wire, leapt to the bodies before they could recover, tying them up for interrogation.

"That….how did they do that?"

"Well, they are _my_ team," Kakashi said proudly. "But more importantly, they are a team. That is what makes them the best gennin in all of Konoha."

"So…the Hokage…he wasn't kidding when he said that?"

"Only reason he said 'one of the best' is because he hasn't seen them in action. I'd stake my life," Kakashi said, pointing his thumb at his chest as they walked over to the captured nins, "that they are the best gennin in Konoha. Well, the best _team_ at least. There are one or two that might better individually, but it always comes down to the team dynamic. Now, which of you feels like talking?"

"We'll never tell you anything," declared one of the nins.

"Yeah! Torture us all you want, you'll get nothing from either of us."

"Oh I didn't mean that," Kakashi said, smiling. "When I said 'which of you,' I meant you two, or him." He pointed at Tazuna, the now sweating man. "After all, I can get what I need from you two with no problem, but if it regards the client…I'd rather he fess up."

"Um, well, yes, that is…"

"…you're kidding, right? You took this job without even knowing what was going on?" The mist nin shook his head. "Konoha is so stupid."

"Oh I assumed there was more than he was telling us, but to actually come across shinobi? That I did not expect. So, what new information do we have?"

"I…alright. I suppose I, I should tell you about a man called Gato."

"Gato? Yes, that sounds interesting," Kakashi said, bringing his kunai down hard enough on each of the shinobi to knock them out. "Tell me more"

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"For the record, I just want to say: you two are crazy." The brothers shrugged.

"Yeah, we are," came Naruto's reply, "but if we backed down now we can't say we're on the way to taking on nii-san."

"Exactly," said Sasuke as Sakura shook her head at the two.

"If we didn't have sensei with us I'd still say we should go back. Don't you ever think you're a little…never mind," she said, cutting herself off before wandering onto the dangerous topic. She worried for her teammates and their lofty goal. It scared her that, one day, they planned to leave, to find one of the most dangerous criminals from Konoha's history, and fight him. Especially since she liked one of those knuckleheads.

"I'm sorry, Sakura, but we _need_ to do this," Sasuke said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "But we promise we'll be careful." The girl suppressed a shiver of delight that her crush was touching her in so familiar a manner.

"Oh, okay, as long as you promise to be safe."

"Hehe, don't worry, I'll take care of bro, here. I'll always make sure he stays safe and sound, believe it!"

"Dobe, you can't even take care of yourself."

"Eh? Why you-"

Sakura giggled once again at their antics as they went back and forth at each other, letting her worries dim and be replaced by their light heartedness. If they, with their serious goal in mind, could manage to not be worried, so could she.

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Sakura found herself wishing she had maintained her pessimistic attitude. After they crossed the huge river to enter Tazuna's town they were attacked again. She didn't think that even sensei had anticipated as high a caliber of ninja as Zabuza. She had seriously feared they would all end up dying, but true to form, Sasuke and Naruto displayed fabulous planning and teamwork, managing to at least distract the huge man holding their sensei captive in a water prison jutsu. She had never felt so useless.

In the past, the three of them had often worked together on their plans. In the past, Sakura often helped to form strategies and lay traps. In the past, they'd had time to prepare. In the past, their lives had not been in danger. When it came down to the wire, she lacked the physical skills to be useful.

Now they walked carefully to Tazuna's house, their sensei rigged up on the old man's back in a harness Sakura had conceived, managing to be somewhat useful. She kept her head down, ignoring the praise that Naruto had heaped upon her, just wishing she could disappear and be spared the shame.

"You aren't useless, you know." The girl jumped, surprised by Sasuke's voice next to her.

"What? Oh, um, I know! What made you say that, haha," she replied, trying to turn attention away from herself. Trying to deflect her crush's pity.

"Sakura, even Naruto can read your body language. You're depressed. You think you've done nothing useful on this mission."

"I-"

"Maybe you didn't fight, but you're part of our team. We're able to do what we do because of that."

"But, if he had gotten through, I would have been useless. I'm too slow, and I couldn't even keep up with you two, much less sensei and Zabuza."

"So?" Sakura stumbled, shocked at the simple question for a moment.

"So! I can't do anything! Tazuna would have died, and then-" Sasuke put a finger to her lips, silencing her as she blushed deeper than Hinata.

"You're smarter than either of us, so do the smart thing and quit beating yourself up over it. If you don't think you're strong enough, get stronger. We'll even help you, if you want, but until then, don't look down on yourself." He pulled his finger away. "Remember, you were the one who designed the traps we've used in the past. Not all missions are going to have spur of the moment fighting, and on those missions you're going to be more valuable than us." Sakura nodded numbly, a grin slowly creeping its way onto her face.

_Yeah, that's true, but I still want to be stronger,_ she thought, clenching her fist. _I'm not going to be a burden, Sasuke. Just watch! I'm going to train as hard as I can to catch up to you guys._  
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"I need to get a personal nurse," the Hokage mumbled, rubbing his cheek. After telling Samui about the boys' little trip she'd slapped him quite hard. He was almost surprised he didn't bruise. On the bright side, he'd managed to get out of doing the rest of his paper work that day. Then again, was it worth it? She was training a new assistant again today and he hadn't even been allowed to do his calligraphy at all. _And_ she made sure to inform him he wouldn't be leaving today until it was all done.

Hiruzen frowned as he gazed over the next bit of paper work. Wasn't he supposed to be going through matters on agriculture? This stack was about the sewer system and hot springs. Not to mention it hadn't even been passed through a council committee yet. What were these doing on his desk? Before he could continue further Samui rushed in through the door, laden with several large files stuffed full of paper.

"Ah, Hokage-sama, I'm so sorry. I mixed up some of your paper work," she said, shuffling papers back and forth between his desk and the files she was carrying."

"I see. I take it this assistant isn't going to work out?" The woman's response was not what he expected.

"Actually, it was Koji-san who realized who pointed out my mistake," she said in a low embarrassed voice. Sarutobi almost dropped his pipe.

"_You_ made a mistake?" Samui nodded glumly as she finished sorting the papers into their proper places and bowed, prepared to leave. "Samui, stay here a moment," he called, refilling his pipe and taking a couple deep draws from it as he waited for her to slowly walk back and settle in a chair.

"Really," she said, breaking the silence, "I ought to be getting back to work. I've gotten us sorely behind today with that and a couple other errors. I need to get to fixing it if I'm going to be on time for-"

"You're really worried about them." At his declaration Samui stiffened. "That's not a bad thing. Too many parents of gennin get caught up in the excitement and encourage their children to do foolish things. Many times it ends well as a gennin's first C-rank is pretty safe, but sometimes the lessons are learned too late."

"I know, and that's why-"

"That is why you need not worry. Sasuke and Naruto both have firm heads on their shoulders, and while Sakura may be taken with Sasuke, she won't be encouraging him to do anything reckless. They are more than ready for missions like this. If it weren't for protocol, and my own caution, they could easily do even more difficult C-rank missions. You've raised these boys well." Samui fiddled with her hair for a moment.

"But you never know what will happen out there…."

"No, that is true, but I have faith in them, and faith in Kakashi to keep them safe. After all, he has a personal interest in Naruto and Sasuke both. More than any other Jounin instructor I trust in him to keep his team safe." Samui nodded.

"You're right, I suppose. Still, even if they aren't my children, I can't help but worry about them."

"And I know Mikoto would be happy to know that you watch after her sons so well when she cannot." A tear formed in Samui's eye before she managed to wipe it away.

"Yes, of course. Thank-you, Hokage-sama. I should get back to work," she said, standing up and feeling more collected than when she entered the office.

"Of course. Myself as well. As I recall, I'm not going home until this is all done," he grimaced.

"You better believe it," she replied, smirking at him as she closed the door.

"You'd think," he sighed, "that after putting her mind at rest I could at least get a few minutes off…" His gaze wandered out to forest surrounding the village. _I wonder what Kakashi and his team are doing..._

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"So…that guy...he was saving him?" Kakashi nodded to Naruto's question.

"That's the most likely scenario. So, since I'm laid up you three will be doing some special training, that way you'll be more ready to handle Zabuza's little helper in our next encounter."

"But, can you really be so sure he's still alive?" a sweating Tazuna asked as he gripped his daughter's hand to his shoulder.

"No," replied Kakashi, shaking his head. "As Shinobi we have to assume he's still alive, and prepare for that. Besides, there's no guarantee that Gato hasn't simply hired another missing-nin instead to come after you. My team needs to be prepared for anything."

"Alright, so what will our training be," Sasuke asked. His sensei's reply was interrupted by the outer door sliding open and a small, sullen child entering.

"Ah, Inari! Look, grandpa's back," called out the bridge building, opening his arms wide.

"Yes, these shinobi protected your grandfather on his way home." The little boy didn't acknowledge the statement for a moment as he took off his shoes and stepped into the main area of the house to hug his grandpa.

_What's with this kid,_ wondered the two brothers as he stared at them. Finally he stepped away from the old man and looked up at his mom while pointing at team 7.

"Mom, they're going to die. You should send them home."

"Eh? What the crap kind of talk is that!"

"You're going to die," Inari stated again. "No one can beat Gato." While Naruto was taken aback Sasuke uncharacteristically sputtered over a laugh. "It's not funny! He'll kill you all!"

"And how is that," Sasuke asked in challenge as Sakura looked back and forth between him and the child, wondering if she should stop him from being too hard on him.

"No matter what you do," Inari said, clenching his fists, "no matter how strong you are, Gato will just make you suffer anyway. He can do anything he wants, and there isn't anyone who can stop him."

"I beg to differ," replied the Uchiha as he leaned back and crossed his arms. "All this Gato guy is is a punk who can't fire and hires other people to do his dirty work. He's pathetic, and my brother and I," he continued, gesturing to Naruto, "are training to fight someone who could kill Gato and all his men without breaking a sweat. So, why should I be afraid of him?"

"YOU DON'T GET IT, AND YOU NEVER WILL! NO ONE'S STRONG ENOUGH TO BEAT HIM, AND NEITHER ARE YOU, OR THAT OTHER GUY YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!"

"Hey, don't, bad mouth my brother like that," Naruto spoke up.

"But he needs to know-"

"Not that one," he said, shaking his hand, "my other brother, the one who killed the whole Uchiha clan by himself. A whole clan of ninja with an eye that can track your every movement, and he killed them. If that isn't strong enough to beat this Gato, then maybe you're right, but I just don't see Gato and all his men being able to walk into the village, try to slaughter everyone and then manage to survive. _Our_ brother did it _alone_. Gato doesn't stand a chance." For several moments Inari continued to stare at the two older boys. Suddenly he turned and walked to a door leading out of the room.

"Inari, where are you going," his mother called, chasing after him.

"I'm going to look at the ocean from my room," came his reply. Tsunami stood in the doorway, watching her son walk away, lifeless as a zombie.

"Naruto…Sasuke…wasn't that a bit harsh?" Sasuke shrugged, looking away.

"Well, doesn't he need to know?"

"Know what?"

"That Gato is just some weak little man, of course. He isn't really the problem, right? It's his money that he uses to hire people."

"It's not just that," Tazuna spoke up as he wiped his glasses with his towel. "Gato is a problem because he has money for sure, but the real power he has isn't his money. It's how he strikes at people's hearts. That's what happened to Inari…" Silence hung over them as the shinobi waited for him to continue. "Ah, what am I talking about! You all are probably hungry, especially you, Kakashi. Tsunami, did you prepare dinner for us already?" The woman nodded and stepped into the house, inviting them to follow.

"Come on; come enjoy my daughter's cooking. She has to be the best chef in the village!"

"What do you think," Naruto asked as they helped Kakashi to the dining room.

"There's a story, of course, and he needs to share it with us if we're going to help like we need to."

"Can't we just ask?"

"No, Sakura. Whatever it was, it hurt the old man, too. He knows he needs to tell us, but not tonight. Enough has happened for now. We'll let off tonight. He'll tell us." Naruto and Sakura nodded, Kakashi remaining silent.

_Not too bad. A little mouthy, but they still get it. I wonder when they'll notice the torn photo on the wall…_

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.

.

The next several days team 7 worked hard at learning tree walking. Sakura's ability to excel at chakra manipulation resulted in Sasuke giving her a pointed gaze, reminding her of their conversation the other day when she thought she was useless. Soon afterwards she was teaching her teammates how to better control their chakra to do the exercise.

As they practiced, Kakashi noticed Inari watching them all from behind a tree and he thought again about the ripped photo. Given the size of the photo, the position of the people standing in it, and Inari's general pessimistic attitude he surmised that Gato had something to do with the boy's death. He sympathized with the child, but he did not know what to say yet to help him. He would need to know the whole story, and he didn't have it yet. In any case, his primary concern was his students being ready the next time they faced Zabuza. They had done well, but next time Zabuza would not be alone. The boy hiding in the trees would be with him, and he was an unknown.

"Alright, time to grab some grub, right Sasuke?" The Uchiha grunted and jumped down the branches of the tree he had just climbed. Sakura had gotten upset at them the night before for staying out too late working on the tree climbing and made them promise to come in on time that night.

"Fine. Let's go."

"Ah, hey, wait up!" They arrived just as Tsunami was setting out the dishes.

"Oh, good timing boys. Supper will be on the table in a few moments."

"That's great! We had to work extra hard today since Sakura isn't letting us stay out late, so we're dead hungry!"

"Good! I would have come out there to get you guys if you hadn't come in in a few more minutes."

"Hn. Don't worry, Sakura. We want to get better, but since you're our teammate, we'll listen," he said.

_Only your teammate?_ Sakura lowered her head slightly before perking back up and acting normally. Naruto, however, noticed the depression.

_I _really_ have to talk to that guy_, he thought as they settled in to eat. Dinner went well enough. Even Inari was calm and didn't make any disparaging comments to the ninja. He seemed to have accepted they were going to stay despite his warnings. When Sakura asked about the picture on the wall, however, he suddenly stood up and left.

"Err, is Inari…okay?"

"He…hasn't been the same, since that man in the photo died."

"Oh," Sakura replied quietly. "How did his father die?"

_And _this_ is what I've been waiting for,_ thought Kakashi. _What exactly happened to make that boy so sad?_

And so Tazuna told them the story of Inari's second father, how he saved him from drowning and encouraged him to always stand up for himself, no matter what. He told them how his bravery and strength made him into the village's hero, the one they all looked up to to solve their problems. Then he told them of the man's tragic death at the hands of Gato's men, even as Inari watched.

"Even there, at the end of it all, he had a smile on his face," the old man said in wonder. "He died without regrets, proud to have protected this village and his family to the best of his ability. That is why," he proclaimed, hitting his fist on the table, "that is why I _must_ complete this bridge! Everyone else lost hope that day. Courage died in our village, but Kaiza was too good a man for me to forget his example, and what he did for my family. If I can build this bridge, then our village can get its courage back and go back to the way it was. Then, my Inari…could be happy again." He trailed off there, not even taking a swig from his wine as it sat next to him.

"Hm. I like it," Naruto declared. "We'll make sure you can build the bridge, believe it! And we'll kick Gato's butt while we're at it, too!"

"Yeah," Sasuke agreed. "We've had our fair share of reasons to lose courage, so we aren't going to back down and let your village lose its courage."

"Th-thank-you!" Tazuna cried, bowing to them in gratitude, showing them a level of humility he had not yet displayed. No one noticed as Kakashi made his way outside to where Inari sat on the porch, dangling his feet over the water.

"You know…your father sounds like a good man. I would have liked to meet him." Inari continued in silence, the only sign he had heard the shinobi being the tightening of his shoulders. "Do you think he was wrong?"

"He's dead, isn't he," came the sullen reply.

"Yes, he is, but so is Naruto and Sasuke's whole family. They were killed because their older brother wanted to, 'test his strength,' is my understanding. Petty reason, isn't it?"

"He was stronger. The stronger always win, and everyone else suffers."

"You know, I think Naruto is proof you're wrong." Inari's eyes shot up to look at him. "Did you know he failed the shinobi graduation exam? He was cheated by one of his teachers, someone who was certainly stronger than him, but he fought him, along with his brother and two of their friends. By standing together, they became stronger than him. Just because someone is strong, it doesn't mean they can't be beaten."

"That won't work here. Gato has enough money to hire hundreds more guys!"

"Yes, that is true. And it's also true that we could die, and all three of my gennin know that. They knew they might die the moment they agreed to come here after being told the truth about the situation here. Why do you think they did that?"

"'Cause they're dumb, and they won't know it 'till they get killed."

"No," Kakashi replied, waving his hand, "it's because they believe they have something worth dying for. They have a dream, a goal, and they will do everything it takes to achieve it. For them, this mission is a step along the way, and while they _could_ die, they will fight their hardest to not die so they can achieve their dreams, and so they can help you." Inari's reply was a cold laugh. Much too cold for a boy his age.

"Help me? It would help if they left; left so fewer people will die."

"Have you ever heard of the Yondaime? The Kyuubi? I thought not. This _is_ pretty far from Konoha. Well, about twelve years ago the Kyuubi, a giant fox made of chakra and bent on destroying everything in its path, came to Konoha. The Yondaime was the leader of Konoha at the time, and the most powerful ninja in the world. He died stopping the Kyuubi from destroying the village."

"Doesn't that just prove it? The strong always win."

"That depends on how you define 'win'."

"Winning means being the last one standing."

"Well, if that's the case, he didn't lose. He tied." The boy's eyes widened in surprise. "Yup, that's right. Tied. He took the Kyuubi down with him, and even though he died, he achieved his goal. You see, winning is sometimes about who's standing at the end of a fight, but really it depends on your goal. The Yondaime's was the protect the village, the Kyuubi's to destroy it. Well, the leaf village is still standing, isn't it? It _wasn't_ destroyed, so the Yondaime won." He stood up. "You don't have to be strongest to win, and sometimes your goal is worth dying for. You father died to give you a better chance, but he hasn't won yet. Like your grandpa, it's up to _you_ to see that he wins. You have to decide: protect his dream and make him a winner, or forsake him and let him lose. Naruto and Sasuke know that, and they want you to understand it, too. Think about it."

With that Kakashi walked back inside, hoping the boy would understand. It would be such a shame if he stayed sad forever, with such a father for an example. He had forsaken his own father, for a time. He'd hate it if Inari did the same.

After he left, Inari stayed outside, thinking, and sometimes crying as he thought about it. _I don't get it_, he thought. _I just don't get it! What do they think they're doing? How can a little kid like me make a difference?_

_If you're a man, live your life with no regrets!_

"Inari, come in for bed now!"

"Yes mom." He looked at the ocean for a moment longer, then went inside.

_…Papa…did you die with no regrets?_

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.

.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Sasuke and Naruto were standing by the trees near the house. After Kakashi left, the younger brother told him they needed to talk about something important.

"What are you doing to her?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Hm?"

"Don't 'hm' me, Sasuke. I know you better than anyone, so cut the crap and tell me what's going on." After Naruto's outburst, Sasuke remained quiet for several moments.

"I can't afford to like her."

"Bull," the blonde declared, staring his brother down. Sasuke calmly met his eyes.

"No, it's not. We know the goal; get stronger, find Itachi, fight him. I admit there was something off about him that night, but that doesn't mean he won't go for the kill. Face it, there's a good chance that when we face him, I'm going to die."

"Yeah, so what? I might die, too."

"No," Sasuke shook his head. "Unlikely. If he goes for the kill, it means what he said was true, and being an Uchiha, he won't consider you worth killing."

"Then I'll go after him till he does. But that isn't happening yet. I know you like Sakura, and we _both_ know she likes you. Quit teasing her and take her on a date!"

"…no."

"Do it."

"No."

"Do it!"

Sasuke remained silent. He knew Naruto meant well. He was always the one pushing Sasuke to smile and be happy, and he was grateful for that. It allowed him rest and peace. It meant he got to be happy, and it made Samui, the woman he once thought would be his sister-in-law now pseudo mother, happy. She deserved it. She had been deceived just like the rest of them, and she gave up her dreams to give them a stable childhood while they kept on training to be shinobi.

At the same time, Naruto's persistence had negative effects. Yes, he liked Sakura. She was good to be around, and she also managed to bring about a level of calm to his troubled heart. But he had let it go too far. They were both too attached to each other. When he went off, if he died facing Itachi and was in a relationship with her…he couldn't stand the thought even now of the hurt that would come when she knew he wasn't coming back. He couldn't do that to her.

Naruto wouldn't get it. He would refuse to face the possibility. For all his observation and intelligence, for all that they worked and trained for, he was still naive. And, of course, there was the fact that he was being a hypocrite. It would be funny, Naruto trying to push him into a relationship and neglecting forming one of his own, if Naruto wasn't so set on others being happy before himself. Perhaps Sasuke should throw it back in his face.

"What about Hinata?"

"Eh?" To his credit, Naruto looked a little ashamed. "That's different."

"Uh huh. How so?"

"I like Hinata, sure. She's fun and she makes things easier to understand. She's kind and patient, and she's pretty to boot, but she's a Hyuuga."

"And you're an Uchiha, even if it is by adoption."

"That's not the point!" He yelled. He looked darkly to the side. "Hyuugas don't marry orphan brats. We can be friends, but that's all I'll ever be. We both know it. She'll set her sights higher than some orphan kid. She'll marry for the good of the clan. She'll love some other guy. Never me."

"Naruto…have I ever mentioned how dumb you are?"

"Eh?" Naruto exclaimed, getting in his brother's face. "What did you say?"

"I said you were dumb. Haven't you ever noticed that she _does_ like you? If you gave her a chance, she'd probably run away from home to be with you. I don't know why, but she fell for you." Sasuke once again shook his head, unbelieving how stupid Naruto could be sometimes. It wasn't even that he had been focusing on others. He had completely missed it!

"I-but-Hinata-she-"

"Likes you. So you can go on all you want about me and Sakura, but I've made up my mind. I won't hurt her by getting into a relationship and then dying. You haven't even done anything with Hinata, but in the end, you'll agree with me. You liked her too much to make her suffer from the chance of you dying." He turned, walking inside.

"We're done talking about this. Leave it be."

Hours later, after everyone else was asleep, Naruto was still outside, now sitting in the trees and trying to come to grasp with the idea that he best friend…_liked_ him.

* * *

**Yup, things are a little different. This time Naruto is a bit calmer, and their team dynamic is much better. Not only that, they are already helping Sakura get over the feeling of uselessness that she has and she's finding renewed motivation.**

**Kakashi's talk with Inari was a bit different, too, eh? I always wanted to focus on what Kaiza said, to live with no regrets. I felt that was a message that Inari needed to understand about the man he called father, and it was really should have been the focus, so I had the chance to put that spin on the conversation here. **

**And of course, Naruto confronts Sasuke about leading Sakura on. Oooh, and Sasuke hit him right back! What will the lasting effects of this conversation be, I wonder?**

**What do you guys think? Let me know. Review!**


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